You're in Paradise Now
by eskimoelena
Summary: AU/AH Elena Gilbert desperately needs an interview with the terrifying CEO of Salvatore Enterprises, Damon Salvatore, to save her job. Damon however, gives her a better offer - write the story of his business into a book, promising she'll have the writing world at her feet when she's finished. Elena agrees, and the rollercoaster begins.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! I figured it was time to hop on the fanfiction bandwagon, so this is my first one. I know the first chapter is quite short, but I wanted to get a feel for it, introduce characters etc. If I get a positive response, (and it's wanted!) I will make the next chapter longer. Basically this is what I like to read in a Delena fanfiction - I tried my hardest to write it, and then read it back like I was a different person. Please tell me what you think of it - I'd love to know your opinion!**

Elena Gilbert took a deep breath and checked the details of the interview on her phone for the second time in five minutes and then looked up at the huge building in front of her, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She had been waiting for this for weeks. Her editor, Matt, had promised that she wouldn't be around to do any more articles if she couldn't snag this one. If it went well, it could make her career. If not – well, it didn't bear thinking about. She nervously smoothed her outfit of a simple ruffled cream blouse and skinny black jeans. There hadn't been any indication on how to dress, so she had to make as best a decision as she could. She glanced at her watch. She was nearly half an hour early but she was most certainly not going to be late for this. The tall building loomed above her. It had to be at least sixty stories, with glass windows lining the entire thing. Beside the revolving door in front of her was a single, silver sign – _Salvatore Enterprises._ Not that it needed it of course. Everyone in Mystic Falls knew of the Salvatore Brothers. After their father died, he had left them his multimillion dollar business. Salvatore Enterprises made and did everything, from films, books, TV shows, to kitchen appliances. The younger one, Stefan, was about 23 and was the vice president. He handled day to day business. And then there was the CEO, the famous Damon Salvatore. 26 years old and rumoured to be the most terrifying man in business. He was also meant to be with a different woman once a week and had never actually been in a committed relationship. He was intimidating, greedy, irritable and snarky. And Elena was here to interview him. Or attempt to, at least. She checked the time again. Twenty five minutes. She sighed and, with as much courage as she could muster, pushed through the door into the lobby.

The inside of the building was just as sleek as the outside. A black and white colour scheme, with a large reception area directly in front of her and a few leather couches with glass coffee tables were scattered around. Very simple and stylish. Trying to ignore the menacing looking guards at every corner, Elena marched up to the front desk where an older, frazzled looking woman was typing frantically at a computer. "Name?" She asked without looking up. Elena swallowed. "Elena Gilbert. I'm here for an interview with Mr. Salvatore?" The woman snorted but then slid a pass onto the counter. "Show that to anyone who asks. It's the top floor. And sweetie – good luck. You'll need it." Not calmed by the woman's comment, Elena looped the pass around her neck and mumbled a "Thanks." before proceeding to the glass elevator. She flashed her pass at the lift man who smiled at her and stood back to let her step inside. "Floor?" "The top one." The man pressed the button for the 65th floor and the doors slid closed. "Here to interview Damon Salvatore?" He asked as they flew upwards. Elena nodded, feeling fear roll in her stomach. "Well he's...he's a bit of a tricky one." "So I've heard." She mumbled as the lift jolted to a stop. "Well here we are. Just go down the hall, you'll get to his assistants desk and she'll take you from there. Good luck m'am." She smiled gratefully at him and stepped out. The doors binged closed instantly and he was gone. It seemed like nobody wanted anything to do with this floor.

*ELENA POV*

I continued down the long corridor, my feet sinking into the plush black carpet. There didn't seem to be any other offices up here I noted. This made me even more nervous. A desk with a young woman, about my age, perched behind it appeared. She looked up in surprise when she saw me. "Can I help you?" "I'm here for an interview...with Damon Salvatore?" I showed her my pass and she barely glanced at it. "I'm sorry but Mr. Salvatore isn't available for an interview today. Maybe another time, ok sweetie?" She went back to typing on her fancy computer – Salvatore brand, obviously. "No, you don't understand." I said desperately. "My editor arranged this with him, it's been planned for weeks and –" She cut me off, sounding impatient now. "Ms Gilbert, was it?" She sneered. "Mr. Salvatore's plans change in seconds and he really doesn't have time for an interview with some trashy magazine today. Now I will call security if you refuse to leave the premises." I was stumped. I hadn't thought about the scenario where I wouldn't even be allowed to _see _Damon. Be shot down by him, sure. But not even be allowed through? Suddenly one of the two doors opposite the desk opened and a pretty, giggling girl stepped out. She was gorgeous, with a perfect figure and tumbling blonde hair and kind blue eyes. She had a silly expression on her face as she shut the door behind her and then leaned against it, sighing with happiness. That was when she noticed me. "Meredith, who's this?" She asked, skipping over to lean on the desk and smiling at me warmly. The receptionist – Meredith – glanced up at me again. "Some reporter who allegedly had an interview with Damon today. She doesn't seem able to grasp the concept that _Damon is busy._" The blonde girl rolled her eyes. "Damon's never actually busy. He just likes to think he is. What's your name sweetheart?" She was smiling at me warmly and I felt slightly more confident. "Elena. Elena Gilbert." "Nice to meet you darling. I'm Caroline – the other brother's main squeeze." I shook her outstretched hand while taking her in. So this was the famous Caroline Forbes. She and Stefan were high school sweethearts and had been going out with an occasional break since then. She was notorious for loving to party but even the most vicious tabloid magazine was forced to admit that she and Stefan were certainly very deeply in love. "I'll see what I can do." She winked at me, before spinning around and opening the other door. Meredith shot up, looking horrified. "Ms. Forbes, you are _not _allowed to simply barge in whenever you feel like it!" Caroline ignored her and sang into the office. "Daaaamon! You have an interview booked and you are not going to blow this one off. It's time you actually opened up a little! And I like the look of this girl." I blushed slightly but couldn't help feeling pleased at the compliment. There was silence for a few seconds then an exasperated voice said "Caroline, who let you in?" Meredith rushed to the door. "Sir, I'm so sorry, she just barged on through, I couldn't stop her –" "It's your _job _to stop her Meredith. _That is literally your only job._ And you messed it up." Meredith looked on the verge of tears. "Sir, I'm sorry –" "Just get out of my sight." She nodded, biting her lips and sat down at the desk again. Caroline grinned, grabbed my arm and yanked me forward and suddenly I was face to face with one of the most successful men in America.

He was sunningly handsome with raven black hair, a chiselled jawline and piercing blue eyes that were staring at me so intently that I felt about two centimetres tall in his presence. He was wearing black trousers and an expensive looking (who knew white shirts could look expensive) white shirt, an outfit which oozed confidence and wealth. Caroline squeaked happily. "I'll leave you two to talk." Before she could shut the door, Damon glanced at her. "I don't do interviews Care, you know that." His voice made me feel weak. She waved it off. "It's time you did. The whole _world _is dying to hear about you Damon. At least think about it ok? This is your last chance before we go away for the winter. And be nice to her! I don't want her to leave crying like the rest of them!" This last comment didn't make me feel especially great but she was gone and the door was shut before I could say anything. And I was left alone with him.

He simply looked at me for a few moments. "I meant what I said."He murmured finally. "I really _don't _do interviews." "I...well...oh." I said feebly. He turned away and I was beginning to get the feeling that this really wasn't going to go anywhere. But I tried anyway. "Are you positive you don't? Do interviews I mean." For some reason he seemed to find this funny and he chuckled. But then he was back to seriousness. "I'm quite positive." He sat down at his huge, uncluttered desk and just looked at me. "May I ask...why?" I said hoarsely. He chuckled again. "Why in the world would I tell the world all my..._secrets_?" For some reason, this made me uncomfortable and I went back to looking at my shoes. "I guess...I suppose I shouldn't take up any more of your time then. Thank you, Mr. Salvatore." I turned to go but then he said something that made my heart stop. "Sit down." Hesitantly I turned and he gestured to the single leather chair in front of his desk. I perched on the edge of it and was forced to meet his gaze. "What did you say your name was again?" He asked, brow furrowed. I swallowed. "Elena Gilbert." "And the magazine you work for?" "The Daily Prophet." He laughed out loud at this. "That trashy old thing? Sweetheart, did your editor really think I would do an interview for _that_?" I blushed, feeling incredibly embarrassed. "Why did you let me in then?" I mumbled. "I want you." My head snapped up and I stared at him, positive I had just hallucinated. "I'm sorry; I think I just heard you wrong." He looked amused. "What I meant is I want your writing skills. I've read some of your work. You're good – very good. It's about time we wrote a book about Salvatore Enterprises. And I think you'd be perfect for it." I continued to gape at him so he took this as an invitation to continue. "It would involve travelling with us however. I don't have time to cut chunks out of my schedule just to do this. It would have to be on the go. You may have heard Caroline mention that we're leaving for the winter?" He paused to look at me so I nodded faintly. "Well we're leaving on Friday. We're going to New York to get a break from Mystic Falls. And you would be coming with us." I was still feeling shell shocked from this whole thing but he must have thought that I was waiting for something. "And of course, salary. You'd be paid 25,000 a week, so 100,000 a month, for anything from three to five months. And then you'd be paid half of all sales." He glanced at me and seeing my expression, frowned. "Are you ok?" I was practically hyperventilating on the floor at this stage. 100,000 dollars a month was more than I usually made in three years. Three years work in one month! I realised Damon was waiting for an answer. I struggled to remain calm. _Don't get too excited, _I thought, _Don't look too eager._ "Can I have some time to think it over?" "No." He said shortly, sitting back down. "It's now or never." I stared at him. I had to decide immediately? Alarm bells were ringing in my head. "But...I barely know you." I protested weakly. "And?" He sounded impatient at this stage. "And you're asking me to go on holiday with you!" He raised an eyebrow. "_I _would be on holiday. _You _would be working. And it wouldn't be just the two of us. Stefan and Caroline would be there too." Seeing I still looked uncertain, he sighed. "Fine. You want answers? Ask away then." For someone who had come to do an interview, it was pretty bad that I couldn't think of a single question. Not one. Seeing I had gone blank, Damon smirked. "Why don't I just tell you about myself then, hmm?" When I didn't reply, he continued.

"I'm 26. I'm from Italy originally, which means I'm an excellent cook. My mother died when I was born and my father died four years ago. I've lived in Mystic Falls for 20 years now. I'm single, never been in a proper relationship – although I've been told that hasn't affected me in bed. Quite the opposite in fact." He smirked at my blush at this comment. "I have properties on every continent and I speak several languages. And now," He continued. "It's your turn to tell me about you." Somehow I found my voice and began to talk.  
"I'm 22. I've lived in Mystic Falls my entire life. My parents–" I furiously swallowed back the lump in my throat, annoyed with myself. "My parents died in a car crash eight years ago. I've lived with my aunt Jenna ever since." If my little burst of emotion had bothered him, he didn't show it. Instead he nodded slightly, indicating I should continue. "I've a brother, Jeremy. He's only just turned 17. I've loved writing since I was a kid." "Any boyfriends?" Damon asked. I smiled sadly and shook my head. "I broke up with my boyfriend Tyler 6 months ago actually. It...Well, it wasn't working." "What went wrong?" He asked softly. I blushed again, and shook my head, attempting to be nonchalant. "Oh it was just a bit of a spat." But my voice cracked, letting me down. Damon leaned forward, pressing his fingertips together. "If we're going to work together, I'll be expecting upmost honesty Ms. Gilbert." I was trying desperately to think up a lie because there was no way I was telling _him _the actual problem but my mind was failing me. "The _truth _please Ms. Gilbert. I can't let you work for me if you're going to hide things. What if it's a massive flaw of yours, that will affect you working for –" "It was sex, ok?" I interrupted. "He wanted it, I didn't. So he slept with someone else." I blinked back tears angrily, furious at myself for letting emotions out in such an unprofessional way. "Who was it?" Damon murmured, his voice velvety but gentle. I looked at the ground. "My best friend." The images from that horrible night came flooding back to me and I squeezed my eyes shut trying to get rid of them. I opened them again and then smiled as brightly as I could. "Anyways, it doesn't matter. I'm over it at this stage." I glanced up hesitantly and that his eyes held no emotion whatsoever. And suddenly I felt incredibly angry at myself for what I had just done. I had just started bawling to some guy I'd never met before about my relationship problems and how my boyfriend had cheated on me when it was this same guy who probably did the same thing all the time. As if he was reading my thoughts, he spoke quietly. "Just because I don't think that sex is 'special' doesn't mean I don't understand that other people do, Ms. Gilbert." He was looking at me with his piercing gaze again and I felt my insides turn to jelly. "So are you on board with the book? I can assure you that it will be the best decision career wise that you've ever made. And I'll handle everything with your current editor. I'll set him straight about our interview as well." I took a deep breath and then gave my answer – a nod.


	2. Chapter 2

I arrived in New York on Friday feeling a bit lost. After my initial meeting with Damon, where I had signed a contract and NDA, the only form of communication I got was a large envelope which contained hotel details and a first class plane ticket to New York. Nothing else to show that we had had the meeting in the first place, aside from a message on my answering machine from Matt who dully wished me all the best in my new job. The plane ride had been smooth thankfully, as I hated flying. But now I was standing in the middle of the airport as people milled about with purpose, wondering what my next move should be.

I decided on a taxi and after a long queue, I finally managed to flag one down. After I hauled my several suitcases into the boot, I slipped into the car and let out a sigh of relief that I was finally sitting down. "Where to m'am?" The driver asked. I checked the sheet of paper with the details. "Um...the Orchid?" The man whistled. "The Orchid? M'am, you must be quite important to be staying in the Orchid." "I...really? Huh." He pulled out of the taxi lane and continued as he weaved through the traffic. "The Orchid's the most famous –and expensive – hotel in New York. You have to have a lot of money to stay there. Most basic room is five grand a _night_." I gulped. I hadn't thought to check out the hotel, I had just assumed it would be the same as any other hotel. "It's...for business." I explained awkwardly. The man grinned. "Must be pretty important business. Those Salvatore boys own it." I shook my head, smiling to myself. _Of course they do._ "That's who my business is with actually. That's why I'm staying there I imagine." The man whistled again. "You're doing business with _them_? You're clearly important sweetheart, because they don't involve themselves with just anyone." I laughed. "I'm clearly the first." The man chuckled, introduced himself as Kol and pointed out all of the different landmarks and attractions as we passed. Finally we pulled up in front of the grandest building I had ever seen. "You need help with your bags?" Kol asked gruffly. I realised he was probably dying to see the inside of the hotel. "If you wouldn't mind." I smiled, slipping out of the car. A doorman rushed to help me but I waved him away. Kol heaved the bags out and we both took two each and hurried inside.

It was like a palace. A beautiful, _beautiful _palace. There were freshly cut flowers and sculptures and paintings and candles. I heard soft music and looked over to see an actual harp player in a world of her own in the corner. Kol chuckled in delight. "I'm extremely jealous of you right now sweetheart, but I better run. Have fun ok? And tell those Salvatore brothers who to call if they want a taxi!" I grinned and paid him along with a heavy tip. Then I marched determinedly up to the desk. "I'm here to see Damon Salvatore?" The woman rolled her eyes. "Of course you are sweetheart. So's everyone else in this damn town, but I really don't have time for the crazies today." I cursed inwardly. Why did nobody ever believe me? "He's expecting me." I tried. The woman didn't even look up. I sighed and perched down on one of my suitcases and prepared to wait. I knew eventually Damon would probably – probably – come to look for me. As if on cue, my phone began to ring. Pulling it out of my pocket, I saw it was Damon. I answered it quickly. "Where are you? I thought your flight was due in a few hours ago." His velvety voice had just a hint of anger in it, and the nerves were back again. "I'm in the lobby. I'm not being allowed up." He sighed and then hung up. I was left staring at my phone for a few moments, wondering if he just wasn't going to help when the lift pinged open and he stepped out.

It was as if a spell had been cast. Everyone in the lobby froze and looked extremely nervous. I could see why. He looked..._dangerous_. Breathtaking, sexy, but dangerous. His intense blue eyes were flashing as he looked around the lobby and saw me sitting on top of my suitcase. He stormed over and his eyes locked on the woman sitting at the desk who was now basically trembling with fear. "Why would you not let this girl up?" He hissed in the most dangerous voice I'd ever heard. I took a tiny step away from him but froze when he shot me an irritated glance. "I...sir, I'm so sorry, I didn't know she _actually _knew you –" "You should have called and checked then." He growled. At this stage she was practically crying. "Sir, I'm so sorry, it won't happen again, I promise –" "I assure you, _it won't_." He turned to me and found me staring at him. "Hello Mr. Salvatore." I mumbled. "I'll have someone bring up your bags, just leave them there. I'll show you to our floor." He set off and I followed him after only some hesitation. He indicated the lift and I stepped inside and then we were off.

It took about a minute to get to the top floor. All I could think about was how it was just Damon in the lift with me. The two of us. Alone. Before I could dwell on it much longer, the lift came to a smooth stop and the doors slid open. I stepped out into a small room with a single door. I turned around to look at Damon who smirked and produced a key card. He scanned it on the scanner beside the lift and the door clicked, indicating it was unlocked. "After you." He purred in my ear, causing all the hairs on my neck to stand up straight and I shivered slightly. But he gently nudged me forward and I pulled open the door and stepped inside.

Damon showed me to my room, which I was positive I would never be able to find again in the enormous apartment. It was literally the entire top floor of the hotel, and when I finally plucked up the courage to ask Damon why it was so huge, "Why not?" was the simple reply. The room was beautiful as well as the rest of the place -king size four poster bed, a small walk in wardrobe, and a marble bathroom with what I was pretty sure had its own Jacuzzi. "Will this do?" Damon asked, leaning against the door frame. I spun around and beamed at him, my usual nervousness of him gone for once. "It's perfect! It's more than perfect, it's amazing! The bathroom is like the size of my actual room at home!" Damon gave me a hint of a smile. "I'll leave you to settle in." He disappeared into the maze of hallways and I was left by myself. I squealed and threw myself onto the bed. "Oh Elena," I whispered to myself. "You're in paradise now."

About half an hour later, I heard a squeal from a good bit away on the floor. "She's here? Why didn't you tell me! ELENA!" There was the sound of running footsteps and then Caroline appeared in the doorway, looking breathless. Before I could say anything, she leapt onto the bed and hugged me tightly. "I'm so glad there's finally another girl in this place!" She said gleefully. "We're going to have so much fun!" "She will actually be working too Care." A voice drawled from the corner. We both looked up to see Damon standing in the doorway. Caroline stuck at her tongue at him. "Oh boo you. Elena can work _and _play. Isn't that right 'Lena?" "Um...I guess?" I said, surprised at the new nickname. "I apologise about Caroline Elena." Another man appeared in the doorway and I guessed he was Stefan. He had sandy brown hair and warm brown eyes. I liked him immediately, especially when I saw the way he was looking adoringly at Caroline. "She doesn't always understand that not everyone wants to be her best friend." Caroline glared at him, her arms still tightly around me. "Of course Elena and I are going to be best friends. I can _feel _it." I felt a burst of affection for Caroline and her instant trust and slightly less awkward in her embrace.

Damon rolled his eyes. "The last best friend she had slept with her boyfriend Care. I'd say she's not all too keen on a new one too fast." Caroline gasped and put her hand on her chest. "Elena, that's so dreadful, I'm so sorry." "Thanks." I said through gritted teeth, glaring at Damon. I couldn't help feeling slightly hurt that he had revealed what I had told him so easily. He simply looked me in the eye and shrugged. Stefan broke the silence by pulling out his mobile. "I'm going to order pizza. First night celebrations! Everyone want some?" Caroline began chatting as usual but I was still glaring at Stefan. I eventually dragged my gaze away long enough to thank Stefan who smiled and went off to order. Caroline bounded after him after one final hug for me.

I was left alone with Damon – _again_ – and for some reason this made my heart thump a bit faster. "Did you _really _need to tell them?" I asked finally. He shrugged. "They were going to find out eventually. Why not just tell them?" I struggled for an answer. "Because...because...well it's _my _business Dam-Mr. Salvatore." "But then you told me and it stopped being _your _business and it became _our _business. Do you understand how this works?" "Basically you're an insensitive bastard." I snapped, turning away from him and beginning to furiously fold clothes. Suddenly however his hands were on my waist, pinning me against him. "That's exactly what I am." He growled in my ear, his lips inches from me. Both my heart and breathing stopped. "And I don't want you getting it in your little head that I'm anything but. I'm mean and I'm bad and I'm scary and I use people, ok?" I didn't reply. "Good." He held onto me for a second longer then let me go and left without another word.

Dinner was fine, mainly due to the fact that Caroline and Stefan continuously flirted back and forth and made as much conversation as possible, even if it was a little strained. Damon didn't say a word the entire time. I mmmed and hmmed and smiled in what I thought were about the right places and Caroline beamed at me. "Isn't this fun?" She chirped. The three of us looked at her in vague disbelief and she dampened down a bit. "Well sorry." She muttered. But it wasn't long before she started chatting again.

Finally, after the last drop of wine had been drunk and the last slice of pizza devoured, Damon spoke for the first time that evening. "I think we should discuss what Elena's schedule is going to be." Caroline and Stefan both glanced at me. "Well Damon, I mean she doesn't really need a schedule as long as she gets the book done..." Stefan said tentatively. "Yeah Damon." Caroline added happily, shooting me a smile. "I'm sure Elena will be just fine working out everything on her own." Damon glared at them both. "I don't know if you two have failed to notice, but _I'm _the one paying Ms. Gilbert's ridiculously high salary. Not you two. So I'll be the one deciding how she works." Their faces fell and he turned to me. I had been watching this whole back and forth feeling incredibly uncomfortable and I now sat up straight. "I want you to work from half nine until one every morning. Gathering information, typing it up, etc. In the evenings, we'll meet and you can go over it with me and I'll make sure it's accurate. Do you understand?" I nodded but Caroline made a face. "Jeez Damon, you don't need to be like a teacher or something. You can actually _trust _her." Damon ignored her. He was still looking incredibly intently at me, something he seemed to be doing a lot. "I'll start tomorrow." I said, for good measure. He nodded slightly but said nothing. After a few moments, Stefan broke the silence by suggesting we all had dessert. So we did.

I could never sleep in a new bed the first night so I spent a couple of hours tossing and turning before finally giving up and getting up to get some water. Damon had disappeared after dinner to take some phone call and then I heard the sound of the door opening and a girl giggling and I hadn't seen him since. I winded through the corridors until I reached the kitchen and fumbled through the cupboards until I found a glass. Squinting through the darkness, I fiddled with the fancy tap and figured out how to turn it on. As I leaned against the counter, sipping my water, I suddenly heard the sound of two people approaching. It wasn't Caroline and Stefan – the girl's voice was far too irritable to be her. So that meant...

I shoved my glass in the sink and dived under the kitchen table just as Damon and the girl who looked like a supermodel stepped into the room and flicked the light on. I rolled my eyes when I realised the girl was wearing practically nothing, only _very _sheer lingerie. Damon wasn't much better – he only had pyjama bottoms on, showing off his taut muscles. I couldn't help but stare at him a little longer than I should have. "Where's your wine Damon?" She whined, searching through the cupboards I had been looking through only moments before. "I didn't invite you over so you could drink my alcohol darling." Damon replied, his tone bored but with a slight edge to it. The ditzy looking blonde clearly picked up on it too, because she plastered a seductive smile on her catlike face and slithered over to him. "Of course you didn't darling." She purred in a horrendous attempt to sound sexy. She leaned in to kiss him and he kissed her back. She groaned and began kissing his neck. Horrified but unable to tear my eyes away, I watched as he tilted his head forward. And then suddenly, his piercing stare was bearing right into me.

I was frozen under his stare, and he slowly pushed the girl sucking his neck off of him. She pouted but he ignored her totally, crouching down in front of the table and just looking at me. "Hi." I said weakly. He looked me up and down and I suddenly felt incredibly self conscious in my old pyjama bottoms and hoodie. We were interrupted by Blondie, who had finally spotted me and was screeching. "Oh my _God, _who are you? Who _is _she Damon? Why were you watching us, you complete sicko?" "I was getting water." I said quietly, answering her question but looking at the ground. "And _then_ what?" God, her voice was annoying. It was a cross between a whiny young girl and a squawking wife. "_And then,_ you two interrupted me." I picked the last sentence specifically to annoy her and sure enough it did. "Oh _my _God Damon, would you look at her? Who does she even think she is? In fact, who _are you_?" I slipped out from under the table and stood up to make myself like as tall as possible. "_I'm _Elena Gilbert." She glared at me in complete fury. I realised Damon still hadn't said anything and decided to make an exit before he fired me in front of this ditz. Before I could leave with what little dignity I had left however, he spoke. "Cindy, I think you should go home." It took a moment to register that he had said _her _name, not mine. Clearly it was the same for her too. Maybe Blondie and I weren't so different after all. When neither of us moved, Damon rolled his eyes and repeated himself. "Cindy. _Go._" This time, it didn't take so long. She looked at him and spluttered. "But...But Damon!" Something flashed in his eyes and it clearly was irritated enough to know that she wasn't going to change his mind. "Fine. _Fine._" She huffed, storming out of the room. A minute later she was back, this time actually wearing clothes, although not many more it had to be said. "This is your last chance." She hissed at Damon, who was looking at her with something that resembled vague disgust at this stage. "Fine! Your loss!" She snapped before turning away. I was about to point out that she had her shoes on the wrong feet – in the nicest possible way obviously – when she slowly turned back around to shoot me the filthiest look I'd ever seen. "_Bitch._" This was what seemed to cause Damon to snap. "Get out." He snarled, his voice shaking from apparent rage. She faltered, clearly unsure. She had probably never seen this side of him before. To me, it was the norm. "OUT, Cindy!" This roar had me trembling. Cindy squeaked and then turned on her heel and fled. Moments later I heard the door to the apartment slamming shut.

Neither of us said anything and I was scared to look up at him. For whatever reason, I didn't want his divine eyes to be looking at me the same way he did to Blond- Cindy. However, he turned away and began to fiddle with the coffee maker. "Do you want a cup?" He asked. "Yes please." I knew it would keep me up for the rest of the night but I didn't really care. There wasn't much chance that I would sleep anyway. Not after tonight.

He handed me the cup and I inhaled the smell of coffee gratefully. "Thank you." I said quietly, suddenly shy. His only reply was a small twitch of his lips as he slid into the seat opposite mine. We both sipped for a while, and for once the silence wasn't awkward. But I of course eventually felt the need to break it so I swallowed a gulp of the delicious coffee and then blurted out "I'm sorry I ruined your night." He chuckled drily. "I wouldn't worry about it. Cindy isn't the most endearing person to have around." I bit my lip, trying to hold in a giggle. "Still, she seemed to really like you." I offered. Damon shrugged. "All of the girls who I sleep _think _that they really like me. They all want to get into my head, want to 'fix' me and have me become an incredibly super sweet guy. But in the end, they don't like me anymore than I like them." He swirled his cup around, clearly in deep concentration. But this time, I couldn't hold back the snort. His gaze snapped up and he looked at me in both irritation and curiosity. "You...you really think that those girls don't like you?" I rolled my eyes at his ignorance. "Damon, they're all head over heels about you! They're nuts, obsessed! You're the guy that they go home to their friends to boast about! And you're sitting here thinking that they don't like you." A small smirk spread across his face. "And what do you think about me?" This question made me hesitate, simply because I hadn't been expecting it. "I think you're sad." This slipped out before I could stop it and instantly my mind was screaming at me. _Why would you say that, now he's just going to be even more pissed! _But he didn't get angry, like I thought he would. Instead he simply challenged me, and I thought I detected humour in his tone. "Well then Elena, tell me. Why would I be sad? I live practically every man's dream. I have billions of dollars, the biggest house in the town, one of the most successful businesses in_ history _and I've just found out from you, multiple women in love with me. Why on Earth would I be sad?" Great. Now he was teasing me. "Just forget it." I sighed, getting up out of my chair and drinking the rest of my coffee in one big gulp. "I'd better get back to bed. Thank you for the coffee." _And for not firing me_, I added but of course I didn't say it. I slipped by him and out of the kitchen and just as I was leaving, I heard him say very softly "Sweet dreams darling."

**What do we think? WHAT DO WE THINK? Goodness, I hope you all like it. This chapter isn't as polished as I'd like it to be because I wanted to get it out there so you could all tell me how I'm doing. Is it ok? Is it too ****similar to Yellow Brick Road? I really really tried to make it as different as I could, so any similarities are coincidental, I promise! And by the way, the support I'm getting - it's heart warming y'all :) I keep checking and there's a new follow, a new comment or a new view and it's so lovely. Even if you don't have a account, you can leave guest reviews - I moderate them but there's usually no problem. So let me know what you think! I do have a plan for the story by the way, and the plot will thicken, more characters etc etc etc but for now - is it ok? I shall update soon! x**


	3. Quick Update!

Guys, this isn't a chapter update, this is just a quick message. (Chapter coming soon - probably.)

**Here's the thing - I'm still getting messages telling me about Yellow Brick Road and how I probably copied it etc etc. **

Let's just clear some things up. I did start typing my fanfic straight after reading YBR so yes, of course there will be similarities. And yes, I did get some ideas from YBR (The biography, Elena being a writer, etc) but I can assure you, never did I once sit down and say "I'm just going to copy this fanfiction to try and get hits of my own.) So please, before you send me a review telling me about YBR - I know guys. I know. Plus, at this stage in the storyline, I can't say I see very many similarities. Obviously there are still some, but I really am trying my hardest to make it as different as possible. I never expected for people to actually read it!

Oh and to everyone who is sending me lovely things and following the story or even just viewing it - thank you so much :) It actually makes my day when I get a new notification. Y'all are awesome :)

New chapter soon! (Actually soon. Either today or tomorrow. Promise.)

x


	4. Chapter 3

**Hello my lovelies! I am so incredibly sorry for taking so long to update, the internet was down and it was all just a bit messy. But I am back now, and I had time to start writing the next chapter as well, so expect another one soon ;D The response has been amazing, you're all so genuinely lovely and people have been following, and favour-iting and reviewing and it's just been so amazing. I checked the view count the other day (I know I probably shouldn't admit to it but I was excited) and the amount of people reading is phenomenal. You should see me, every time I get an email about a notification, I like squeal and jump up and down and my family think I'm nuts. **

**This chapter is a bit longer and a bit different. I'll talk about it more at the bottom because I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll see you soon and enjoy!**

After finally managing to fall asleep at about five in the morning, I woke to the smell of burning. Instincts kicked in and I leapt out of bed, yanked on slippers and skidded through the hallways towards the smell, determined to put out the fire should there be one. When I sourced it to the kitchen, I burst in through the door, prepared to fight a blazing inferno or whatever but the scene I found was very different to the one I had imagined.

The entire kitchen was covered in flour and...eggs? I ran my fingers gingerly along the counter top, wincing at the sticky mess. In the middle of the kitchen was Stefan, who looked quite amused and an extremely forlorn looking Caroline who was covered in flour. She looked up at me sadly. "I tried to make pancakes." was the only explanation I got. I bit my lip to hold back a laugh. Stefan smiled at me and rubbed her back. "It was a really nice idea love. Honestly, it was incredibly sweet of you to want to bring me breakfast in bed." She looked so disappointed however, I decided to take action. "Right. Stefan, you go back to bed and Caroline and I will cook and you _will _get your breakfast in bed." I said determinedly. "Oh Elena, that's really ok-" Stefan began to protest, clearly worried that if left in the kitchen, Caroline would burn down the entire hotel. But Caroline had gone back to her usual self. "Oh yes, go on Stefan!" She squealed, running over and grabbing my hand, squeezing it tightly. "With Elena here to help me, you'll get the best breakfast ever!" Stefan hesitated, torn between wanting his darling to be happy and wanting to keep the hotel intact. He looked at me worriedly, and I smiled reassuringly. "I promise everything will be fine Stefan." He relaxed and kissed Caroline on the top of her head. "Please be careful this time love." He murmured into her hair and she giggled and swatted him away. He left, with one final glance at me. I winked and he grinned back, before shutting the door to the kitchen.

Half an hour later, I was completely exhausted. We had cleaned up the kitchen and left it spotless, before starting on a far simpler breakfast of sausages, toast, a boiled egg and mushrooms. As I stood cooking all the individual parts, Caroline perched herself beside the cooker. "I really appreciate you helping me with this you know." She said gratefully, watching as I checked the sausages for browning. "It's no bother Caroline." I said warmly, glancing up at her and smiling. She grinned back, showing perfect, even teeth. "I'm so glad Damon hired you." She said, bumping her shoulder against me. "It can be so _boring _here without anyone else. I have Stefan of course but sometimes he and Damon are working and I'm left with no one." When she said his name, I thought about Damon for the tenth time that morning. I knew I could trust Caroline so I left the sausages for a few seconds and turned to her. "Is Damon always this...temperamental?" She didn't seem surprised by the question and made a face. "Sometimes. Usually around us, he's a bit more relaxed. But you know, there's been the whole thing with Katherine." I turned back to the sausages, trying to appear nonchalant. "Katherine?" She looked surprised. "Yeah, Katherine Pierce. You _have _heard of her right?" When I didn't reply, Caroline clapped her hands together in glee. "I love being the one to tell people gossip! You've heard of Pierce Inc., right?" I nodded. _Everyone _knew of Pierce Inc. It was the huge rival company of Salvatore Enterprises, and although Salvatore Enterprises always came out on top, I imagined it was a bit of a headache. Caroline continued. "Well the CEO of that is Katherine Pierce, which is great because you know, girl power, but not so great due to the fact that she's a cow." It was so weird to hear Caroline badmouth anyone. I glanced up at her and she was staring off into the distance, brow furrowed. "What's wrong with her?" "Damon went out with her for a little while about a year ago." Seeing the look on my face, she shook her head. "Not for two long or anything. Maybe two months? But he was pretty crazy about her, and was just beginning to really let her in, tell her about himself. And then –" She sighed. "Katherine went to the papers, and told them a whole load of the really personal stuff he had told her. And when he confronted her about it, she just laughed and told him she was setting up a rival company and had just wanted to distract him. He took it pretty hard." "Wow." I mumbled. This was something I had never even considered. Damon hurt others, sure, but Damon being the one getting hurt? Caroline shrugged and stole a mushroom from the pan. "He's completely over her, it's just he still has a hard time letting people in. Hell, it took him two years before he properly started talking to me. So he's always a little edgy when new people come into his life, you know?" I considered this as I arranged the breakfast on a plate. "But I'm not going to start a rival company. I promise." Caroline giggled and took the plate from me. "I'll hold you to that. And thank you so much sweetheart, you're the best. Stefan will love it!" She kissed me on the cheek and skipped off. I smiled after her and began making up my own breakfast.

After a few minutes, Damon appeared in exactly the same thing as I had seen him in last night – still no shirt. "Good morning Ms. Gilbert.""Mr. Salvatore." I replied, determined not to gaze at his muscles. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down where I had been last night. I could feel his gaze on my back and I could only stand it for so long before I turned around. "Do you want some breakfast?" He peered at the bowl behind me. "Depends. What are you making?" I turned back to my little array of fruits. "Fruit salad." He made a scoffing noise and I sliced the apple a little more vigorously than originally intended. "Please tell me exactly what the problem is." I said through gritted teeth. "Your first breakfast in New York shouldn't contain the word salad. It should be full of carbs and fat." I rolled my eyes. "Well, start as you mean to go on, hm?" I muttered as I jumbled it all together. I heard the scrape of his chair and then he was reaching around me to grab the bowl. "If you intend to go on this way, it's going to be extremely dull eating for the next few months." He murmured in my ear. Trying not to dwell on the fact that his naked torso was practically pressed against mine, and that his lips were so close I could feel his minty breath, I managed to get out "What do you suggest then?" He pulled back and when I turned around, he was grinning at me. "_I'm _taking you out to breakfast." I began to protest but he ignored me and turned to leave the kitchen. "Meet me back here, dressed, in half an hour. And wear something warm! It's cold out." For the second time this morning, I was left alone in the kitchen, wondering where this new and improved _friendly _Damon had come from.

"I don't see why we need to take your big fancy car." I grumbled, sliding into the expensive leather seat. "I thought everything in New York was within walking distance." He rolled his eyes as he twisted the key in the ignition. "That's the biggest stereotype I've ever heard. Besides, the place we're going to is a bit further out." The engine roared to life and he smoothly drove us out of the hotel car park. The car itself screamed Damon. It was a sleek sports car, with shiny black paint and tinted windows. The inside of the car smelt like fine leather and there was a hint of his cologne – another thing which I tried not to think too hard about. As we speeded through the streets of New York – only Damon would know the places that didn't have traffic – the conversation I had had with Caroline kept replaying in my head. As usual, it was only so long before I blurted it out. "Caroline told me about her. Katherine I mean." He tensed ever so slightly but apart from that, it was the usual eye brow raise. "And?" "And...I'm sorry Damon. Really I am. You should never have to go through something like that with someone you love." He shrugged. Dammit. He was back to usual, smartass Damon. "Nobody ever said I _loved _Katherine. It was more of a fling, so –" "You loved her Damon." I interrupted quietly. "I know you loved her. I can tell." He was silent, and then he glanced at me. "I'm sorry about your ex. Guy sounded like a bastard. I mean, come on? Your best friend? What was his name again? Taylor?" "Tyler. Tyler Lockwood." The name had a bad taste in my mouth. "Do you want me to have him fired from his job? I'm sure I could make a few calls." I was about to tell him that Tyler didn't work in Salvatore Enterprises when I realised that he could probably influence most of the corporations in America. "No, that's ok." I sighed. "Thanks for the offer though." "He was an idiot to ever cheat on you." This compliment shocked me and it looked like he hadn't exactly meant for it to slip out either. "Thank you." I said, feeling a blush come to my cheeks. He gave me a half smile and then we slowed to a stop outside of a bustling cafe.

"We're here?" He grinned and hopped out of the car and half a second later, he was opening my door. I got out of the car as gracefully as I could and immediately the bitter cold made me shiver.

"Do you want my jacket?" He asked, completely seriously. I was tempted, _so _tempted to say yes, but I shook my head, smiling. "I'm fine. Thanks though." I slammed the car door shut and he winced. "Gently please sweetheart." He chastised before making his way into the cafe.

"I really shouldn't have let you order for me." I said, looking down at the multiple plates of food. Damon scoffed. "Come on, this isn't very much. Besides, we're _sharing, _sweetheart." I looked down again. The food did look delicious, and God only knows there was plenty of it. Croissants, French toast, mini muffins, porridge, scrambled egg, pancakes and a lot more. I plucked a muffin off the platter and nibbled the edge of it gingerly.

"Oh my God!" I groaned, taking a huge bite of it. "This is amazing!" "They hand make everything." Damon explained, taking a bit of a croissant. "I've been coming here for years and years." "Do you always come to New York during the winter?" I asked curiously, plucking a bowl of porridge with fresh fruits from the tray. He shrugged. "Usually. If there's another rival company somewhere else, we sometimes go to wherever it is so we can sort it out." "What do you do, buy it out with your mountains of money?" I teased, blowing on the spoon to cool down the amazingness that was the porridge. He looked at me completely seriously however. "We crush them and everything they have. We never need to buy them out." I lowered my spoon, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "Isn't crushing them a bit drastic?"I asked lightly. "I mean, someone worked hard to get that company up and running. You could partner with them or something!" He gave me all of two seconds to be immensely proud of my idea and plan for my future as a business person before crushing it like he had crushed the businesses.

"Salvatore Enterprises don't partner with people, Ms. Gilbert. Ever." The way he said it wasn't unfriendly – it was simply a statement of fact. He smiled slightly – God, he was handsome – and then changed the subject. "Well then. This book. Tell me what your plans are." "Oh right, right!" I scrabbled for my bag, searching for the folder with all of my ideas. I was quite – ok, intensely proud of how impressed he looked when I opened it and displayed all of the work I had done. "What you have here is practically a novel itself." He smirked, thumbing through the stack of papers. I glared at him and then finally found what I was looking for. "Here it is! This is the structure I thought I would use, I was meaning to run it by you." He extended his hand and I gave it to him, trying not to show how nervous I was. This was my only real idea for the book. If he didn't like it, I was screwed. But slowly a smile spread across his face as he read. "So basically, you want it be a chapter on the business, a chapter on us?" "And so on." I said eagerly. "Keep it simple, you know?" He nodded, and handing me the sheet along with a heart melting smile. "I like it. It's clean, easy to follow. Good job Miss Gilbert. I may just have to give you a pay increase."

We drove home in silence – not because of any other reason than the fact that I was in a food coma. "I...ate...so...much..._food._" I groaned, clutching my stomach. He rolled his eyes as his phone beeped. He checked it and frowned. "Don't...text...and...drive." I reprimanded. He ignored this and suddenly swerved the car around a corner. "Sweetheart, I have to do something really quickly before we head home, ok?" I waved a hand. "Whatever." I noticed how tightly he was gripping the steering wheel. "You ok?"I asked gently. He said nothing and gave a curt nod. I watched him for a few moments then turned away.

After a couple of minutes, we pulled into the carpark of an extremely tall building. Damon got out of the car and slammed the door. I quickly followed, because it didn't look like he would be opening my door this time. "Where are we?" I asked quietly as we passed rows and rows of cars that would have cost more than what an average person made in two years; I wasn't one of those people anymore I realised. Before I had time to contemplate this – _I was rich! Yippee! _– I noticed a sign on the door. _Pierce Industries._ Inwardly I groaned. "Damon, why are we here?" When he didn't answer, I stopped walking and stood still. He got a few more metres before he realised I wasn't trotting beside him. He sighed and he sounded exasperated. "Elena, come on. I'll explain later." "I really don't understand why we're going to your ex's business." "We're going _for _business, something I don't actually think I have to explain to you." That stung a tiny bit and I wasn't exactly sure why. He was looking at me impatiently. "Are you coming or do you want to just wait in the car?" He snapped. His eyes were flashing again and I resented the way he treated me like everyone else who annoyed him. But I relented, because I didn't want to be stuck in the car like a naughty child. "Alright, alright, I'm coming." I said quietly, and he began walking again without another word.

We continued on into the lobby of the building. The interior was quite similar to Salvatore Enterprises, but slightly more feminine, with pops of colour every now and again. Damon didn't pause to take in any of this however – he marched straight up to the front desk. "Tell Katherine I'm here to see her and will be up in about two minutes_._" He snarled. The woman at the desk glanced up but instead of looking terrified, a slow smile spread across her face. "Damon Salvatore." She laughed. "I didn't think you'd be showing your face around here for a _long _time. Do you have an appointment?" Damon tensed. "I swear to God Amelia, if you don't tell her right now that I'm down here, I will guarantee that none of your family continues to work in my business. Do you understand?" The smile dropped off Amelia's face. "Go on up." She said dully. He shot her a feral smile and moved to the lift. I hurried after him and slipped in just before the doors slid shut.

"Katherine just released a press statement full of lies about Salvatore Enterprises." Damon told me angrily as we moved upwards through the building. "It's all over the news." "Are there lies about you too?" I asked softly. He laughed hollowly. "Oh yes." The lift shuddered to a jerky stop and the doors opened, revealing a long corridor lined with doors. Damon let me step out and then he practically ran down the hallway, stopping at the very last door. He knocked once on the door then, without waiting for an invite, opened the door and walked in.

I peered around the door to see Damon standing opposite Katherine. I recognised her from the papers but she looked even scarier in real life. She had long, icy blonde hair, porcelain skin, and light grey eyes, with pouty red lips. She was tall, but that might have been aided by the killer high heels which I had to give her snaps for being able to stand without wobbling in them. As the two of them stood opposite each other, I realised what a good looking couple they must have made. She was smirking at Damon. "Darling, you heard about the press release?" Her voice was cruel. "You're pathetic Katherine. _Pathetic._" She laughed. "No Damon, you're the pathetic one. Haven't you read the press release? You constantly insulted me and stole money from me, along with the cheating with my sister. I don't know why I stayed in that toxic relationship." Damon snorted. "You have to make up lies to keep your company in the news. Do you know what I have to do to keep my business in the papers?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Nothing sweetheart. Because I'm _successful._" The smile dropped off her pretty face. "I'm successful." She snarled. "But don't you understand sweetheart? You'll _never _be as successful as me. Never. I can personally promise you that." She looked like she was about to slap him when she noticed me.

The smile spread across her face again. "And who, might I ask, are you?" She hissed at me. I normally would have frozen and stammered something but this girl was pissing me off. So I glared at her and tried to imagine that I was as tall of her, not at least five inches smaller. "I'm Elena. Mr. Salvatore's new...assistant." I figured assistant was easier to explain, plus I didn't really want to tell her about the book. "New assistant? Good luck with that darling. How many assistants have you hired, slept with and then fired, hmm?" This last statement was addressed to Damon, who ignored it but simply glowered at her. "It's weird that he hired you though. Usually he picks _attractive _people to sleep with." She said this as she looked me up and down. "Well, he clearly makes exceptions." I murmured, smiling sweetly. "I mean, he went out with you." Katherine's mouth hung open. "I...how dare you!" She spluttered. I smirked at her and Damon laughed loudly. "Probably time we made our exit, Ms. Gilbert. Ms. Pierce doesn't really know how to fight her own battles, so I imagine security will be called any second. Good day Katherine. This isn't the last you'll be hearing of this. In fact –" He took a step towards her in a manner which I could only describe as threatening. "I imagine it'd be in your best interests to release _another _statement. This time with the actual truth. Unless you want the biggest lawsuit you can imagine coming down after you. " There was a flash of panic in her otherwise emotionless eyes at this. Katherine was a bitch, but she wasn't stupid, far from it. Even I could see that. Any lawsuit from Damon would surely destroy her company for good. Damon could get the best lawyers and could probably bribe the judges and jury. He offered me his arm and I took it and we turned to go but Katherine moved in front of us. "Wait, Damon wait. You wouldn't actually want to sue little old me, would you? I mean –" She stepped closer to him, putting a hand on his chest. "It was only a joke darling." She purred. "You know I wouldn't ever want to hurt _you_. You know how I feel about you. And vice versa." Damon looked at her with the same disgust he had looked at Blondie the previous night. "Unless you think I'm a manipulative bitch who doesn't have a heart, then no, vice versa doesn't apply in this situation. Now please get out of my way. We have to get back to the apartment, where I have business to do. And I mean actual business, not just realising petty lies about other people." She clenched her jaw but stepped aside and the two of us strode out together.

As soon as we reached the car, I exploded in fits of giggles. "That was amazing!" I exclaimed as I sat into the car. Damon laughed. "Her face Damon! Her _face_!" "I do imagine that you were the first person in the world to call Katherine unattractive." He commented dryly. "At least to her face." I mused as he pulled out of the car park. His phone began to ring and he checked the caller ID then tossed it to me. "It's Stefan – would you mind answering it? I know how you feel about texting and driving. I dread to think what you would do to me if I _answered _someone while driving." I glared at him but pressed the green button on the phone. "Damon?" Stefan demanded immediately. He sounded incredibly worried. I glanced at Damon. "It's Elena. Damon's driving." "Since when does Damon care about road safety?" Stefan asked, sounding confused. "Since me." He chuckled but still sounded anxious. "Elena, would you ask Stefan if he heard about Katherine's press release? I only saw it now, I spent the morning with Caroline – thank you so much for the breakfast by the way, it was really delicious and Caroline is forever grateful – and I wanted to check if he was ok." Damon was clearly able to hear this entire conversation because as he turned a corner, he said "Tell him that we sorted it out." I raised an eyebrow at him but turned my attention back to the phone.  
"He says we sorted it out." Stefan groaned. "Please don't tell me you went to talk to her." I hesitated."Kind of." Stefan sighed. "Fine. Tell Damon if that's how he wants to deal with his crazy ex, he can. Are you guys on your way home?" I told him we were and that we would see him soon and he hung up.

"Stefan said –" I began but Damon waved a hand, cutting me off. "I heard, I heard. He's so worried that someday I'm going to do or say something that'll ruin the entire company." "Maybe he's worried about you, not the company." I heard myself saying. Damon looked surprised at this and glanced at me.  
"I mean, he is your brother. He obviously cares about the business, but I imagine he cares about you more." Damon seemed to consider this. "Maybe you're right Ms. Gilbert."  
"Damon?" "Yes Ms. Gilbert?" "How...how many of your assistants _have _you slept with?" The question had been bothering me since Katherine had said it. Damon laughed. "God, Katherine's good, isn't she?" This surprised me. "How is that related to-" "She gets into your head." He interrupted. "She said that and now you can't stop thinking about it. You can't stop wondering if I only hired you to get you in bed." I was stumped. "Can you just read people's minds?" "Of course sweetheart. That's part of my charm." He winked at me and I rolled my eyes as he answered my previous question.

"Any assistant I've slept with has either asked me to or was hired with the knowledge that we would sleep together." "But every woman on the planet wants to sleep with you, so that's hardly logic." I pointed out. He turned to me and his eyes were so intense again that I felt frozen. "Would that apply to you as well?" I blushed again – me and my stupid cheeks. However I managed to sound as cool and collected as I could. "Ah, but I'm mysterious Mr. Salvatore – that's part of _my _charm." I replied, winking at him as we pulled into the Orchid's parking lot.

**I'm back! What did you all think? I wanted to make Damon slightly nicer in this chapter, to show that he's warming up to Elena, beginning to trust her, etc etc. Also - Katherine! I know she's a bit overused in fanfiction so apologies but she's such a deliciously bitchy character, I couldn't ****_not_**** put her in. Not a lot in this chapter but it is my longest one yet, so let me know your thoughts and ideas! Oh, and I was wondering if anyone would like me to do Damon POV at some stage? If not, I'll just continue on with Elena but it could be interesting, hmm? Anyways, think about it and I'll be back soon with another chapter.**

**Bye darlings!**

**x**


	5. Chapter 4

**Alright y'all. We have a lot to talk about once you're done reading.**

Stefan was waiting for us in the apartment. "You ok?" Was the first thing he said, making me positive that what I had said to Damon about Stefan in the car was true. "Fine, fine." Damon said airily, walking past him and sitting down on one of the numerous couches. Caroline appeared from a random door and when she saw us, she hurried over. "Are y'all ok?" She asked anxiously, slipping her hand into mine and squeezing it tightly. "We're _fine_ Caroline." She calmed down slightly but still held my hand – not that I minded. It was comforting. "What happened?" Stefan asked, sitting opposite Damon, who shrugged. "We just went in and told her that she had to retract the statement. Simple as." I raised an eyebrow at him, (a habit I had seemed to pick up) along with everyone else in the room. "Damon, this is _Katherine _we're talking about. As in psychopath Katherine. It's_ never_ that simple."Caroline snorted, and then turned to me.  
"You'll tell us what actually happened, Elena?" I glanced at Damon to check it was ok and when he simply shrugged, I told the tale of the morning as best as I could remember. "We were on our way back from breakfast, and Damon got a text –" "Email." Damon threw in, looking pleased with himself. I gritted my teeth.  
"Damon got an _email _which must have said something about Katherine's press release because suddenly he was driving like a maniac –"  
"You _do _drive like a maniac." Caroline cut in to inform him.  
"Right, well we got to her building and then he threatened an employee so she let us up –" Stefan groaned.  
"And we went to her office and Damon and her yelled at each other for a bit, and then she noticed me so I just told her that I was Damon's assistant and then he–" "Don't leave out the bit where you told her she was unattractive - that was the best part." Damon smirked from the corner. Caroline gasped and a huge beam spread across her face. "You told _Katherine Pierce _she was ugly! Oh I am so happy with you right now!" I smiled sheepishly and continued on.  
"And then he told her that he would sue her if she didn't release another statement saying the previous one had been a lie and then she got really scared and she...well she..." I trailed off, unsure of how to end. "She pretended to be attracted to me again." Damon finished from the corner. Caroline gasped. "That _bitch_! How could you be so heartless when – wait, did I just say that about Katherine?" Stefan was shaking his head in disgust. "I say we sue her anyway Damon." He said earnestly, sitting forward. Damon scoffed. "Of course we're suing her, whether she retracts the statement or not. If she does, the case won't be so big but it'll still damage her." "I'll ring the lawyer." Stefan stood up to go and Damon followed suit. "If anyone calls, just tell them we're in a meeting." He told Caroline and I. We both nodded obediently and as soon as they were gone, Caroline laughed fondly.

"It's all business in their worlds. We came here for a holiday." She threw her hands up in the air in a _c'est la vie _motion and then turned to me, smiling. "That gives us some time to plan the ball." Upon seeing my confused expression, Caroline looked horrified. "Damon didn't tell you about the ball? _Elena._ Every year, I plan a ball and invite literally everyone we know. It's _huge_. Have you really never heard of it?" Now that I was reminded about it, I vaguely remembered seeing something about it in the tabloids last year. "See, you do remember. It's in two weeks and I've been absolutely stressing out about it."  
She pulled out a massive ring binder and began flipping through it. "What's the theme?" I asked, amazed that one dance could take this much work. "It's a masquerade ball this year. It's going to be the best one yet, we haven't had anyone turn down the invitation." My jaw dropped when I saw the size of the guest list. It practically needed a ring binder of its own. "Care," I asked weakly. "How many people are coming?"Caroline frowned and checked her notes. "As of right now, its 1021 confirmed guests. Why?" "That's...well that's a _lot_." She shrugged. "Damon and Stefan have a lot of connections. Oh that's right, I was meaning to ask you if you'd like to bring anyone? Like family, friends? You're invited of course." I couldn't stop the smile spreading across my face. "Really? _Me_? I'm invited?" Caroline glanced at me, and looked amused. "Of course you are sweetie. You're one of us now." The words echoed in my head. _I was one of them,_ I chanted mentally, over and over, _I was one of them_.

As we sat together, me frantically writing down details of everything Caroline told me, she kept looking up and smiling at me. "What?" I asked on the fifth time she did it. She shook her head, grinning and causing her blonde curls to bounce all over the place. "It's just...you fit in so well here. You can handle Damon, you can handle _me, _Stefan thinks you're fantastic, and...I don't know. I don't know what we did without you. You only got here yesterday but it feels like I've known you years." I couldn't resist the impulse to hug her. "By the way," She continued, waggling her eyebrows as I pulled away from the embrace. "What's up with you and Damon? He _never_ takes anyone out for breakfast. Like ever. In fact, you're lucky if you get to stay for breakfast if Damon is involved." I blushed slightly and went back to the notebook, now filled with my handwriting. "He's my boss Care." I said quietly. "I'm sure he was just trying to be friendly." Caroline snorted and I knew what she was thinking – _Damon doesn't do friendly._ We both sat in silence for a little bit and then in an attempt to lighten the mood, I turned to her. "What colour is your dress?" That started her off again and she was cheerfully chatting like before, Damon forgotten. At least, _she_ forgot about him.

After a few hours, I managed to convince Caroline to let me go to work on the biography but only after I assured her I would help her again tomorrow. As I walked to my room, I passed by Damon and Stefan, who were talking on the phone to some lawyer or another. Damon caught my eye and smirked slightly. I stuck out my tongue in response and continued on.

I flopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. In a couple of days, my life had changed completely. It was mad to think that if I hadn't accepted the offer, I would be sitting in the Daily Prophet's office, waiting for an article title in that dreary office. It didn't bear thinking about.  
As I sat up, determined to type up at _least _two chapters on the book, my phone began to ring. I groaned but cheered up when I saw the caller ID – _Aunt Jenna_. "Elena?" Her warm familiar voice brought me straight back to our cozy house in Mystic Falls. "Jenna!" I could hear through her voice that she was smiling. "How are you kiddo? How's the new job? Are they overworking you?" I laughed at this. Over the past two days, all I had done was eat, be driven places and plan a party. "I'm fine Aunt Jenna." "Well, you know that you can come straight home if you get sick of New York! So tell me, what's the mysterious Damon Salvatore like?" I struggled for an answer. "He's...he's very hard to describe." I said honestly. She laughed. "Oh sweetie. I miss you so much – so does Jeremy." "I miss you too." I said, suddenly with a lump in my throat.  
Then I remembered what Caroline had said about the ball, and how I could invite anyone. "You know Aunt Jenna, the Salvatores are hosting a ball in a few weeks and I'd love if you could come." "Oh darling that's a lovely offer, but I don't want to intrude-" "I insist." I said firmly. "I would love to see the two of you at it. I'll pop invitations in the mail tomorrow." "Elena, thank you so much." She sounded touched and I couldn't help but be excited that I would see them soon. We chatted for a bit longer and then I had to regretfully tell her I had to work. "Of course sweetie, we'll talk soon. And even if we don't – I'll see you soon!" After she was gone, I spoke sternly to myself. "Ok Elena. You are going to _work _for the next few hours on this book." Opening my laptop, I felt a sense of comfort wash over me that only writing could bring and I happily started typing.

I was shaken out of my writing trance by Caroline, who appeared in the doorway to tell me that lunch was ready. Well, not really tell as much as throw herself onto the bed and snuggle against me, proclaiming "Lunch is served, my new friend!" I laughed and went to close down the computer, but Caroline stopped me, staring at the screen. "Have you done all of this in the past two hours?" She sounded amazed and when I saw how many pages I had done, I was kind of amazed too. "I guess." I said, squinting at the number to make sure it was correct. "Elena, that's amazing! You're like some kind of genius who – hey, who's that?" A name was popping up on my screen, sending me an invite to video chat. As soon as I saw who it was, I felt queasy. "Ex best friend." I explained, my mouse hovering over the decline button. I was so not in the mood to talk to Bonnie. Caroline glanced at me. "The one who your boyfriend cheated on you with?" I nodded, preparing to click but Caroline grabbed my hand. "Wait, wait. Maybe you should talk to her." I looked at her, positive she was crazy. Caroline shrugged. "Has she tried talking to you before?" I nodded again, feeling slightly guilty this time. Bonnie had been sending me texts and calling and emailing practically every day. I never even bothered to check them. I was too angry. "Sweetie, she was your best friend. Just try talking to her. I'm here anyway, in case she gets too sassy." I hesitated then with a sigh, accepted the request.

It was so weird to see Bonnie pop up on screen when I had avoided her for months. I felt a pang as I looked at her, with her bouncy red curls and porcelain skin. She was biting her lips nervously. "Hi." I said expressionlessly. "Elena, I've been trying to talk to you since...well since..." "Since you slept with my boyfriend?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. She flushed bright red. "But I didn't sleep with him, that's what I've – wait, who's that?" She was looking at Caroline who gave her a wave. "Elena, why is Caroline Forbes on your bed?" I glanced at Caroline and she grinned at me. "Wait Elena, _where are you_? You're not in your own house." I hesitated before telling her. I didn't like the way we were talking like we used to.  
"I'm in New York." "My boyfriend and his brother gave her a job." Caroline added chirpily. Bonnie's mouth fell open. "Elena, you're working for the Salvatores? Doing _what_?" "It's...it's kind of confidential."  
It was like she deflated. Her excitement disappeared at my dismissive tone. "I've...I've really missed you Elle." I winced at the old nickname. Caroline squeezed my hand and I took a deep breath. "Bonnie, you slept with Tyler. While I was going out with him." Bonnie shook her head vigorously. "No, no I didn't! I swear to God!" "Bonnie, I found you two together, he was basically naked and –" "Elena, _he _was practically naked because _he _was the one who took off his clothes! He'd been hitting on me for months, practically since y'all started dating. And the night you found us, he decided it was time to make a move I guess and he pushed me into that room and started feeling me up and it was so gross and then you found us and you were so _angry _and you didn't give me a chance to explain and you've no idea how awful that night is to remember." I would have scoffed but memories of that night were flashing back to me as well – finding the two of them, Tyler _smirking _while Bonnie looked at me with horrified, scared eyes. She had been trembling I realised, and her makeup had been smudged. Tyler didn't have a mark on him and simply looked smug. Which meant... "Oh my God." I muttered, mainly to myself. Then I looked at the screen in horror. "Bonnie, oh my god!" She looked she was going to burst into tears of relief. I felt a bit like I would as well. In fact, she did, and that set me off. "I've...missed...you...so...much!" She sobbed and I wished desperately that I could hug her.

Suddenly Damon appeared at the door, looking irritated. "Caroline, I thought I told you to tell Elena that lunch is – are you ok?" He looked slightly alarmed at my tears. Caroline laughed and squeezed my arm. "She's fine. Best friends reunited and all that." I looked at her and grinned. "_One _of my best friends." Caroline squealed and hugged me and Bonnie was still crying while laughing and Damon looked at us, bemused. "Well, you all take your time I guess, I'll save some food for the two of you." "No, no, we'll be out now." I hiccupped, and then looked at the screen. "Bon, I have to go." Bonnie blew her nose and smiled at me. "But we'll talk soon, yeah?" She sounded worried. "Really soon. I promise." She blew me a kiss and I blew one back and I left to get lunch, my heart feeling a lot lighter than before.

As soon as we were all seated at the table, an unknown waiter appeared with a platter of sandwiches and salads. I couldn't help but feel awkward as he hovered; waiting for someone to take a sip from their glasses so he could refill it. The other three however, didn't seem to mind. "What do the lawyers think?" Caroline asked Stefan as she helped herself to salad. "That we have a case. Not a huge one, as Katherine has withdrawn the statement, but we'll still get money from her." Caroline grinned and kissed him on the cheek. "Stefan's going down to Washington for a few days though, to straighten things out." "You're not?" I asked as nonchalantly as I could. His blue eyed gaze turned to me for a few moments. "No, I'm not." He had me caught in his gaze for a few seconds, and then he turned back to Caroline and Stefan who were watching us curiously. "Caroline, I thought you might want to go with him." A huge grin spread across her face and Caroline squealed, grabbing Stefan's hands. "We're going to Washington? Why didn't you tell me?" "Sweetheart, I only found out just now –"  
He was cut off by Caroline kissing him passionately. So passionately in fact, I felt the need to look away, unintentionally meeting Damon's eyes. He grinned and rolled his eyes. I bit my lips to stop the smile that was threatening to spread across my face. "Caroline?" Damon said eventually, sounding amused. Caroline pulled away from Stefan, looking incredibly pleased with herself. "You're leaving tomorrow and you'll be gone five days." Caroline leapt up, looking horrified. "Tomorrow? _Tomorrow?_ Oh my God, I have to pack! Y'all will have to excuse me! Elena, you come and help me as soon as you're finished your lunch!" She practically skidded out of the room, leaving a kind of startled silence after her.  
Stefan chuckled and picked up a sandwich. "Please don't let her distract you from _business, _brother. That is the actual purpose of the trip." Stefan ignored this and turned to me. "How's the research going?" He asked kindly. "Really good actually." I grinned. "I've got a good bit of work done, and I'm going to do some more tonight." Stefan looked pleased. "I dug up some documents and pictures from when our father started the company, if you'd like them." He offered. I was touched – after all, part of my job was searching for articles and things like that, something I knew from past experience wasn't easy. "Thank you Stefan, that'd be fantastic."  
Before the conversation could continue, Caroline reappeared, looking vaguely irritated. "Elena, I thought I asked you to come and help me when you were finished your lunch." I stared at her. "Caroline, it's been literally two minutes." She rolled her eyes. "Long enough!" She snapped, before grabbing my arm and dragging me out of the room.

I perched on her and Stefan's king size bed. Their room was extremely luxurious – all silk and satan and 900 thread count bedding. They had stuck to a simple pale grey colour scheme, which was extremely calming. The room was filled with pictures, both professional and snapshots. I smiled when I noticed one of Stefan and Caroline, both in graduation gowns, beaming at each other. My attention was drawn back to the mess of clothes of the floor, and Caroline, who was freaking out beside it.  
"What will I bring?" She fretted, tossing piece after piece of clothing behind her. "Care, you'll look amazing in anything and – are all of these clothes designer?" Caroline nodded absently, examining a ruffled blouse. "Caroline, Stefan will think you're gorgeous in whatever you wear." She sighed and flopped down beside me. "It's just…I really want to _wow _him, you know? Like he sees me all the time and I look pretty and nice and that's fine, but...I don't know, I want him to be _speechless_." She cuddled a soft, fur lined jacket to her face. "It'll be our anniversary while we're away." I nudged her shoulder, trying to cheer her up. "So you can go out and have a fabulous day in Washington, eh?" She continued to look mopey so I stood up determinedly. "Right Ms. Forbes. We are going to pick you a killer outfit that is going to blow Stefan away ok?" She groaned and pulled a pillow over her face. I rolled my eyes and crouched down, sorting through the clothes. "What's his favourite colour on you?" I asked, studying a tiny sequined dress. She sighed and sat up. "Red." I nodded appreciatively. "Red. Good, ok. Well look, we have loads to choose from!" I scooped up the clothes from the ground and plopped them on the bed. Caroline perked up a little. "What about this one?" I asked, pulling a lacy red dress from the pile. I held it out and we both tilted our heads to the side to examine it. It had sheer sleeves, and then a lace bodice with a red slip underneath. A smile spread across her face. "That and…black shoes!" She leapt off the bed and disappeared into her walk in wardrobe for about twenty seconds. I heard the sound of shoes hitting the floor and then she reappeared, looking triumphant as she waved a pair of incredibly high black heels around. I caught glimpses of the red sole as she did. "This is perfect!" She looked thrilled. "Just 4 more outfits to go." I teased. "And lingerie." She added seriously.  
I felt my smile falter. "W-what?" She rolled her eyes and began searching through a drawer filled with lacy..._things_. "Our anniversary night Elena? We're not just going to sit in, watch a movie and go to bed." "No. No, of course not." I replied weakly. "So, what do you think?" She asked, modelling napkin sized pieces of silk against herself. I averted my gaze, blushing. "Caroline…I'm really not the kind of girl who's good with this sort of stuff." Caroline frowned and laid down the underwear gently. "Of course you are. I mean, what do you wear when you sleep with someone?" I could feel my cheeks were burning red. I could practically see a lightbulb light up above her head. A huge, delighted grin spread across her face. "Elena Gilbert, you're not." "Caroline –" "Elena, you're a virgin!" She squealed loudly, exactly at the time Damon walked into the room.

_Kill me. Kill me. Kill me._ I knew that I was effectively a tomato at this stage. A lazy smile spread across Damon's face. Caroline still looked delighted. "I just came to say that if you want to go over whatever you've written, feel free to call into my office later." He murmured silkily. "I'll be doing work there." I slipped off the bed, still mortified. "Right. Yes. Right, ok. I'll see you in a bit." I quickly left out of the room. As I hurried away, their voices drifted down the corridor. "You've embarrassed her!" Caroline chastised. I could practically _feel _Damon raise an eyebrow. "_I've _embarrassed her? Caroline, you were the one screaming about how often she has sex. Or doesn't, in this situation." They continued arguing but I didn't hear. I quickened my pace and basically sprinted to my room, where I threw myself onto my bed and buried my face in my pillow.

I guess I was covering my ears too, because I didn't hear footsteps approaching, only that silky, perfect voice about three metres from me. "Elena?" _Oh God._ I instantly scrambled up and tried to make it appear that I hadn't been hiding over the fact that someone had pointed out my virginity. "Are you ok?" Damon asked lightly, glancing from the crumpled pillow to me. I nodded nonchalantly, grabbing my computer. "Are you here for those chapters? Ok! Here you go then!" I practically shoved the computer at him. He took it but didn't leave like I had hoped. Instead, he looked at me with what could nearly be described as slight concern but I was pretty positive concern didn't exist in Damon's world. "I think it's sweet." He said eventually.I snorted. "I'm serious. It's nothing to be ashamed of." _I'm not meeting his gorgeous gaze, I'm not meeting his gorgeous gaze, I'm not…dammit. _"I…well…um…thanks?" I babbled, feeling like a deer trapped in the headlights. Very blue, piercing, amazing headlights…wow, I was in deep.  
He smirked slightly and turned away. "I'll have this back to you by dinner. Which we're all going out for by the way, since Stefan and Caroline will be away for dinner. Wear something fancy." I nodded, even though he obviously couldn't see me. He turned back just before he disappeared around the corner and had me trapped in his eyes again. "Elena…are you bringing anyone to the ball?" I nodded, thinking of Aunt Jenna and Jeremy. Something flashed across his face but before I could work out what it was, he was emotionless again. He turned away again. "Will you tell Stefan and Caroline not to disturb me please? I'm having a girl over before dinner." To do, I was sure, what he had been telling me was 'sweet' that I hadn't done it less than two minutes ago. And I didn't know why, but this made me slightly irritated. "Yeah sure. Have fun." Before I could say anything else, he was gone. I sighed and pulled out my phone to text Bonnie. Paradise? More like hell.

**I sincerely hope y'all enjoyed the chapter. It's quite scruffy, but I have a reason for wanting to thrust it out there. Basically, I'm not sure if you've seen YBR's new update. The author talks about the 'copycat' author (me) and she's really nice about the whole thing but I really can't stick all of this anymore. So I emailed her and told her that if she read the story and thought it was too similar, I would delete it. Or at least stop writing it. *sigh* It's just, I spend so much time writing these. If I was copying her, I'd have new chapters out all the time, but I don't because I'm writing them myself and thinking up new ideas etc. I don't know. Some people, a lot of people in fact, have been so incredibly lovely and y'all truly make my day when I see a new review, favourite, follow etc. I never expected people to ****_read _****this. And I know a lot of you say you don't see the resemblance between YBR and YIPN and I agree! But anyhoo - it is up to the author now. If she does want it deleted, I will obviously continue to write fanfiction and I will update y'all on what's going on. Just in case - you readers have literally made the happiest girl on Earth and you have been so awesome and fantastic and I just love you all! Thank you for your continued support and let's just cross our fingers!**

**Bye darlings.**

**x**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hello my lovelies! I'm so incredibly sorry for the late chapter, it's appalling how long it took me to write this but I've been intensely busy. School, family, you name it, I've dealt with it over the past few weeks. ****_However _****this chapter is a bit longer than some of my other chapters so maybe it makes up for the lateness? No? Ok. **

**I just want to say a quick thank you to all of y'all for your lovely messages. (Special thank you to Tara Rebecca for the sweetest PM, you are an absolute sweetheart!) I read every one by the way and get so excited - but you all know that.**

**Without further ado - on with the story! (And I hope you like it)**

After about an hour long texting session with Bonnie, I figured I should probably go and get ready. I went to explore the bathroom, which was enormous. All shiny black marble and sleek tiles. There was a ceiling to floor mirror, along with a huge bathtub that doubled as a Jacuzzi, a shower with about six different shower heads and a cabinet filled with expensive bath products that I remembered seeing once in a luxurious department store that had smelled divine but had literally cost one month's pay check apiece . _Note to self_, I thought as I chose between lavender, vanilla or peach bubble bath. _Before you go home, fill your bag with all of this stuff. _As I debated between the scents, a thought popped into my head – _what would Damon like?_ Immediately I brushed the thought away, embarrassed it had even arisen. I settled on vanilla and poured it liberally in the tub. "Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles!" I sang to myself as I turned on the hot water and watched as they nearly overflowed. I quickly peeled off my jeans and t shirt and grabbed a few fluffy towels that also smelled like vanilla – I stood for a few minutes just inhaling them – and then slid into the hot water.

It was like magic. I instantly felt relaxed and however much that bath stuff cost, it was worth it because it felt like a freaking massage or something. I lay back in the deep water, eyes shut as I took deep sniffs of the vanilla scent wafting all around the place. After a little while, I shampooed floral shampoo onto my hair and then slathered on a hair mask to let it condition. I closed my eyes and leaned against the side of the bath. After a few minutes, I was practically asleep but I suddenly heard approaching footsteps and I groaned. "Elena?" I heard Caroline call tentatively. "I'm in the bath Caroline!" I shouted back. This didn't seem to worry her however, because she bounded into the bathroom. "Caroline!" I shrieked, moving the bubbles so they were covering…_strategic places._ She didn't seem at all perturbed by my nakedness and instead perched herself on the little couch near the bath, looking anxious. "Sweetie, I didn't mean to upset you about the whole virgin thing. I think it's really sweet that you're waiting for someone special. Heck, Stefan and I didn't do it until our third anniversary!" I nodded, teeth gritted. "Care, I'm literally naked right now so –" "And don't worry about Damon. He thinks it's cute too." I smiled patiently, not having the energy to explain to her that I didn't want him to think I was _cute_. "Anyway, he told you we're all going out for dinner tonight. Stefan and my anniversary and all that." I could see how happy she was – she glowed whenever she mentioned Stefan. Then her face fell. "You _are _coming, right?" I looked at her and answered honestly. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

After about an hour, I was ready. I stood in front of the mirror, scrutinizing myself and outfit. The hair mask that had been left on for ages due to the fact that I was talking to Caroline had made my hair shiny and soft. I simply left it natural, straight and long. I had chosen a pretty black dress that was simple and elegant, just above the knee along with blue chunky heels. My makeup was fairly straightforward – a slick of liquid eyeliner, red lip and flawless skin set with powder. I looked…_good_. Really good. I admired myself for a little longer, fairly proud of myself until I glanced at the clock. _Damn._ We were meant to be leaving _right now_. I grabbed my little clutch with the few essentials and hurried down the hallway, where I crashed straight into a random girl.  
She looked at me like I was an alien. "Whoare _you_?" She asked cattily. I subtly looked her up and down. Amazing body, tan, blonde and big boobs and stunning. Fabulous, Damon's little bed buddy. Or one of them at least. "I'm Elena." I said politely, offering my hand. "I work for the Salvatores." Her face relaxed and she looked a little friendlier, shaking my hand gingerly. "I'm Mandy. Damon and I…well…you know…" She winked and pretended to be embarrassed although I knew she was dying to run home and tell all of her little friends of her and Damon's alone time. Sudden dread filled me as I wondered if she was going to be joining us for dinner but my mind was put at ease as she continued. "I'm heading home now though, he has some fancy dinner thing? I don't know. Oh but I'm not sure if he got my number, would you mind giving it to him?" I was pretty positive he had got her number, along with about a hundred other girls, but I didn't mention this as she rooted in her enormous bag. She produced a card and handed it to me. "I'll make sure he gets it!" I said chirpily, slipping it into my clutch. She grinned a huge lipsticky smile at me and since we were both headed the same direction, we ended up walking to the front door together in extremely awkward silence.

We got to the huge open room in the apartment where Stefan and Caroline were waiting. Caroline bit her lips to stop a laugh escaping as she looked the girl up and down – Stefan coughed and pointedly looked away from her, suddenly finding the clock on the wall extremely interesting. Mandy didn't notice and as I opened the door for her, she looked at me anxiously. "Make sure he has my number, ok?" I nodded and smiled at her. "Will do. Nice to meet you Mandy." She took one last wistful look into the apartment but as I didn't want to risk her asking to go and find Damon or something, I gave her a cheery wave and shut the door.

Caroline burst out laughing. "Did you _see _her? God, Damon doesn't have very high standards." I laughed too and got a closer look at Caroline. She looked incredible and sexy, but Caroline had the ability to look sexy without having to show off very much. She was wearing a simple purple dress with matching shoes and diamond jewelry. Her makeup wasn't natural – an intense smokey eye, evened out with nude lips and flawless skin. Her blonde hair curled around her face and chest and I could see Stefan's eyes flicking to her every few seconds. "You look fantastic." I said honestly. A huge grin spread across her face and she hugged me tightly. She smelled fantastic too – I'd have to get the name of her perfume off her. "You do as well, beautiful." "What about me?" We both turned around to see Damon grinning lazily at us, walking across the room. He _did_ look incredible, in a simple black suit that was perfectly tailored. His face was pretty amazing too. I then remembered the card in my bag. "This is for you." I said, offering it to him. "Compliments of Mandy." Caroline added. Damon scanned it quickly then tucked it into his pocket. "We're going to be late, come on." This last comment was from Stefan. Caroline giggled and looped her arm through his and let him lead her out of the apartment.  
I went to follow them but Damon caught my arm. "What?" He looked at me seriously, his brow furrowed slightly and his jaw tense and his eyes beautiful and I just wanted to throw myself at him. I refrained of course. "I've just got a tip off that there's paparazzi outside. So can we just go over what to do?" I could help the laugh that escaped. Damon raised an eyebrow but for once, it didn't intimidate me. "No offence Damon, but why would the paparazzi want to take pictures of you?" This made him laugh, although more in a 'you're an idiot' than a 'you're so funny' way. "Ms. Gilbert, I'm literally the richest man in America. I'm also prone to going out a lot, drinking and bringing multiple women home. And I'm 26. Why _wouldn't _the paparazzi want to take photos of me?" "Good point." I mumbled. He paused to smirk before continuing. "So they're waiting to ambush. You need to stay behind me, keep your head down, don't talk to them, and don't _look _at them. Got it?" I snorted. "They're just a few people with cameras Damon. I think I'll be fine." He looked at me as if I was mad for a few moments and then shook his head. "Let's see what you think of them once we're in the car." He walked past me to the lift. I rolled my eyes at his arrogant and followed him.

Ok. He was right. This was _insane_. All I could see were flashes, and hear people yelling, shouting. I looked determinedly at the ground and followed his basic path. "Mystery girl! Hey, mystery girl!" I winced at my new nickname - any idea that I had that paparazzi were fun had gone out of the window. I felt a security guard's hand on my back, guiding me to the car. He practically pushed me inside and then the door was slammed shut.  
I blinked a few times to try and get rid of the flashing stars in front of my eyes. When they finally cleared, I found all three of them grinning at me, Damon more smugly than the other two. Caroline giggled at my stunned expression. "You ok doll?" She asked, squeezing my hand. I nodded dazedly. "First time's always the worst." Damon said cheerfully, looking at me through the rearview mirror. I glared at him and he chuckled and the driver began to drive.

We pulled up outside the incredibly fancy restaurant and through the tinted windows I could see more paparazzi gathering around the car. Stefan sighed and opened the car door. "Ladies first." He said sweetly, ushering us out. Caroline climbed gracefully out of the car. Before she exited fully, she turned to me. "Legs together." She whispered, winked and then slid out of the car. I followed her, granted less elegantly and she grabbed my hand and we hurried through the crowd of photographers together, giggling.  
We arrived in the restaurant and were immediately led to a table by an incredibly star struck looking waitress, who glanced at me curiously a few times. We were seated at a cute little table in the corner of the restaurant. Caroline went to sit beside me but I shooed her away. "You're sitting beside Stefan." I insisted. She beamed at me and sat opposite me just as Damon and Stefan appeared. I couldn't stop the butterflies that appeared in my stomach when Damon sat down beside me without hesitation, but then I reminded myself that he was obviously just doing it so Stefan and Caroline could sit together. The chirpy waitress reappeared with a bottle of champagne and poured us all a glass, paying particular attention to Damon I noticed. Jealously bubbled up inside of me when Damon gave her a charming smile but I quickly squashed it – I didn't have any right to be upset after all. He raised his glass and smiled at Stefan and Caroline. "To the happy couple." He said smoothly. "May your relationship continue the way it has, because I've got used to having Caroline around and I don't want the hassle of learning a new girl's name." Caroline thumped him and we all toasted. "Before we order, I'd like to add a toast." Caroline said, smiling around the table. "To Elena. You've been so fantastic and I imagine it hasn't been easy, especially with someone like Damon around. We all know you're going to do a fantastic job with the novel." We all toasted again, this time with me blushing. "You guys have all been s lovely and welcoming." I said honestly. "I can't imagine what I would have done if I hadn't accepted the job." Damon snorted. "Like I would have let that happen." I shot him a grin, trying not to show that I was melting inside. _Get a grip Elena_, I thought angrily. The waitress showed up again with menus but Damon waved her away. "Bring us whatever the chef recommends." He purred silkily to her and I could practically see her swooning. "Right away Mr. Salvatore." She muttered before hurrying away.  
When Damon turned back to the table, all of us were rolling our eyes at him. "Stop charming girls like that!" Caroline scolded. Damon smirked. "It's not my fault I'm devastatingly handsome." He purred smugly. "It _is _your fault that you're an arrogant ass." Stefan laughed and Damon winked. "Part of my charm." He chuckled and Caroline threw a piece of bread at him.

Dinner was delicious. Whoever the chef was clearly had fantastic taste because different dishes just kept coming and coming and they just kept getting more and more delicious. "I don't think I've ever been this happy in my life." I sighed contentedly as a huge pasta dish appeared. Damon laughed. "You haven't been truly happy until you've had some of my homemade ice cream." He said, handing me a plate of the pasta. "Well it'll be tough to beat this." I warned, talking a bite of the pasta and wondering where how I had lived before it.  
Caroline and Stefan weren't taking any notice of us; they were feeding each other and just gazing into each other's eyes, murmuring back and forth. Damon glanced at them. "I've never seen two people more happy than those two." He said quietly so they wouldn't notice. I nodded, sneaking a peek at them as Stefan fed Caroline something off of his fork. "Would you ever want a relationship like that?" He asked me suddenly. I shrugged. "Who wouldn't?" He looked slightly doubtful. "You wouldn't want that? Complete and total love?" I teased. He looked at me completely seriously however. "They're obviously in love. But they're not…_passionate. _They're like an old married couple. Wouldn't you want a love that_ consumes_ you? A relationship that's so intense it takes your breath away?" I stared at him, unable to think of anything to reply to that. "I think…everyone dreams of something like that." I said eventually. "But the chances of that Damon…I mean, who ever meets someone like that?" He shrugged and took a long drink of champagne.  
Stefan and Caroline turned to us, looking completely happy. "Y'all, we're gonna take off." Caroline said, holding Stefan's arm tightly. "We'll call the driver. We don't want to be late for the flight tomorrow." "And you want to go home and have sex." Damon smirked. Stefan rolled his eyes but Caroline just smirked at us. "Go on, go home. Take the car, we can walk home." Damon said, waving them away. "We'll stay for dessert. I don't think it'd be fair to drag Elena away from this place before experiencing their chocolate cake." He shot me a smile and I grinned back. Caroline shot me a look along with a raise of an eyebrow. I glared at her and she giggled and blew me a kiss and she and Stefan hurried away.

The conversation flowed between us easily – it was light and sometimes flirty. (Although that might have been my imagination) We split a piece of the enormous and divine chocolate cake; well, it was more me hogging the entire thing and every so often he managed to get a taste. "I don't know how you managed to find this place." I said as I sadly put down my fork. He chuckled and brushed a strand of hair out of my face very gently. My breath caught when he did and I had to force myself to concentrate on what he was saying. "I own this restaurant." This caught my attention. "You _own _this place?" I yelped. A few people turned around to stare at us and I lowered my voice hastily. "You _own _this restaurant?" Damon looked amused. "I don't see the problem." "Damon, you literally own everything!" He rolled his eyes. "Elena, of course I don't. Please don't be ridiculous." I ignored this. "How much money do you make in a year?" I demanded. He shrugged. "It changes all the time." "Roughly." I said through gritted teeth. He shrugged again. "I really don't see why it matters." I couldn't really tell him why either but I was determined not to back down. "Do you even realize how lucky you are?" I ranted. "You've been blessed with all of these amazing opportunities and I don't think you understand –" I was cut off when he grabbed my wrist and yanked me close so that my face was about five inches from him. "_Never say that I don't know how lucky I am." _He snarled. "_Of course _I know how lucky I am, but let's not act like I haven't worked my _ass _off to get where I am today, ok?" I nodded, too terrified to do anything else. He didn't release my arm for a few moments however, and I was frozen, staring in his ice blue eyes. Then he let go of me and I pulled away quickly, rubbing my arm where he had gripped me tightly. His eyes showed no emotion whatsoever, he only said quietly "We should probably get home." I nodded, still a little shaken. He stood up and waited for me to scoot by him. I accidently brushed against his chest and he tensed slightly. "Sorry." I muttered. I waited for him to get out his wallet so I could argue out who was paying for it but to my surprise, he just began to leave.  
"Damon!" I hissed. I must have been an incredibly predictable person because without turning around, he drawled "When you own the restaurant, you don't have to pay sweetheart." This was a fairly valid point but I sill didn't want to back down completely. So I rummaged through my purse and quickly pulled out fifteen dollars and went to put it on the table as a tip but when I turned around, Damon was about five inches away from me again. I managed to hold back my scream but I was pretty sure it would be a while before my heart stopped thumping as hard as it was. "What are you doing?" He asked through gritted teeth and I could feel his minty breath on my cheeks. "I was…I was just leaving a tip." I stammered. "I am literally the richest man in America." He growled. "And you think it's your job to leave a tip?" I bristled at this. "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I shouldn't-" I stopped when he started laughing. "Jesus. _Jesus._ Right, fine, leave your tip. We need to get home." I smiled smugly and trotted after him as he left.

"New York is gorgeous at night." I said, teeth chattering from the icy wind, looking around as we walked back to the hotel. It really was. All twinkly lights and fast moving cars and lots of people. My only major problems were the cold and the fact that my shoes were beginning to make it painful to walk. Damn heels. Damon nodded and was about to say something when he noticed that I was shivering. Immediately he stopped and pulled his jacket off. "Damon, no it's just a bit chilly, I'll be fine –" "Don't be ridiculous sweetheart. You could get sick." He scolded as he slid the expensive jacket around my shoulders. I continued to mumble protests but I couldn't help but clutch the jacket around me, inhaling the Damon-y smell. "Thanks." I muttered finally. He grinned at me and I couldn't help but smile back. We walked along in silence for a little while, listening to the sound of the city whizzing by. "I loved what you've written of the novel." He said suddenly and I instantly felt warm and tingly inside. "It was ok? It wasn't too bland or anything?" He shook his head, looking amused. "What I wanted to know though," He continued as we crossed the road and the Orchid came into sight. "Is why you didn't mention me at all." I froze. "W-what do you mean?" I asked as casually as I could. "You wrote about my father, my mother, Stefan, Caroline but not me. I was just wondering why." I struggled to for an answer that wouldn't sound ridiculous. "I…well…you're a bit complicated to describe." Oh great one Elena. He seemed to take this as a compliment however judging by his smug look. "Look, I'll get round to it, ok?" I snapped. He rolled his eyes as the doorman hurried to open the door for us. "Mr. Salvatore." He muttered, not meeting Damon's eyes. Damon ignored him but I smiled at the older man gently before following Damon into the lift.

As the doors slid closed, I sneezed suddenly. Damon looked at me with vague entertainment and slight irritation. "You ok?" He asked as the doors opened on our floor. I nodded before sneezing again. "Just…hayfever…I…_achoo!_" The tickle in my nose wouldn't go away, much to my annoyance. I sneezed my way into the apartment and Damon tossed me a packet of tissues. "Go to bed." He advised. "I think you may have caught a cold." I groaned before sneezing again. "Go!" He shooed me out of the room and I made my way to my bedroom, snuffling miserably as I went.

That night was awful. I tossed and turned, unable to breathe with my nose and sometime between 3 and 4 am, my throat became incredibly sore. I must have managed to doze off because I woke to someone very gently shaking my shoulder. As soon as I opened my eyes, I knew it had been a bad idea. I felt _horrendous_. I turned my head as much as I could bear to find Damon looking down at me. Normally I would have been embarrassed but I felt too awful to feel anything but misery. I curled up into a tight ball, shivering under the covers. "I'm sick." I croaked. Damon chuckled quietly but still sounded concerned. "I see that. I'm going to grab you a glass of water and some medicine. You sleep for now." I nodded and squeezed my eyes shut again but I couldn't stop the tiny smile that spread across my face when I was certain he was gone. _He cares, _I thought feverishly.

I was woken up the same way, Damon gently shaking my shoulder. I groaned and stuffed my face in my pillow. "Elena, come on. I just want you to take these two pills and then you can sleep again..." He coaxed. I sighed and slowly slid into an upright position, wincing at my pounding head. I eyed the two tablets he was offering suspiciously. "Are they legal?" I asked warily. He rolled his eyes. "Elena, it's over the counter, just take them." I hesitantly swallowed them both with the aid of a glass of water he provided. Instantly I began to feel better. I smiled slightly at him and he grinned back. "There's my girl. Now, do you want anything to eat?" The thought of food made my stomach turn upside down and I shook my head queasily. "I might just get up and do a bit of work on the book." I tried but he cut me off before I could say anymore. "You're not getting out of this bed and you're not even thinking about the book. You are going to rest and that's it. Got it?" Although the words were sweet, he said it in his usual Damon –esque 'I'll crush your company if you disagree with me' sort of way. So I nodded, albeit a bit sulkily and then the Damon I had got to know since coming to New York came back. "I'll make you something later, ok? You just sleep now; it's what's best for you." I nodded and slid back down under the duvet. I waited for him to leave but just before he did, I felt him touch my hair very lightly before leaving and shutting the door quietly.

I woke up feeling a lot better, although I felt quite groggy. I sat up slowly, testing myself and waiting for the ache to return to my head and my entire body but surprisingly, it never came. I grinned, making a note to thank Damon for his magic tablets. I slid out of bed, threw on a dressing gown and made my way to the kitchen.

In the kitchen I flicked on the coffee maker so I could wake myself up and as I was waiting, I caught sight of the clock. It was _6.00pm?_ I blinked, feeling incredibly disoriented. How long had I been asleep for? I needed that coffee, and fast. I poured myself a cup and took a gulp. "Easy tiger," A voice purred from behind me. I turned to see Damon smirking at me; he was wearing simple black pants and a shirt that he hadn't bothered to button. "Going for the casual look?" I commented, taking a more delicate sip. He snorted as he reached behind me for a mug. "You're one to talk." He said, gesturing to my pyjamas. I glanced down - I was wearing bottoms patterned with stars and a top patterned with moons. At least I matched. I stuck out my tongue at him and he grinned and I suddenly realized how close we were to each other. He seemingly did too, because instantly there was a shift in the atmosphere. "I mean...I'm not complaining about them." He murmured. I swallowed and a piece of hair fell in front of my eyes, something I had never been happier about in my life because he gently pushed it back. His hand lingered against the side of my cheek for a minute and then he was gone and had moved away from me to the other side of the kitchen.  
"You should really go back to bed you know." He said as he watched me take a reassuring swallow of the coffee. "Those pills will help but you need as much sleep as possible too." I made a face at him. "I can't sleep anymore." I complained, setting down the coffee. "I've slept for like 15 hours. And I'm starving." He laughed and opened the cupboard behind him. "Well, I'll tell you what. I'll make you up something, but you have to sit down and rest." I nodded and obediently perched myself on a stool. "Do you like quiche?" He asked as he took down a bag of flour. My mouth watered at the thought and I nodded eagerly. He chuckled and opened the fridge to get eggs and milk. "If you're as hungry as you say, it might be a good idea to grab a snack because this will take a while to cook. There's bread if you want a sandwich." Upon seeing my horrified expression, he grinned and gestured to the freezer. "That amazing ice cream I make I was telling you about? There's some in there. Go fetch." I beamed and leapt up to run to the freezer, grabbing a spoon on the way.

"This is amazing." I groaned as I went to take another spoonful of the peachy goodness. Damon rolled his eyes but took another spoonful too. He had put the quiche in the oven and was now sitting beside me as we gobbled (well I did) through the ice cream. "You should have been a chef." I said as I put my spoon down for a small break. "What, if my future hadn't been decided as soon as the business took off?" Damon commented dryly. I shrugged. "I guess. But you build your own future, y'know? If you wanted to, you could quit the business. Leave it all behind."  
I was very proud of this speech before I realized he was laughing so hard no sound was coming out. "You're the cutest thing." He chuckled when he eventually stopped. I glowered at him and he laughed again. "I couldn't just _quit _Elena. Besides, I love my job. It's interesting, I get to travel all over the world, and I terrify people into doing what I want." I snorted, taking another scoop of ice cream. "You don't terrify people." I said unconvincingly, realizing how stupid this sounded. When I glanced up, he looked entertained. "I don't scare people? Not even you?" I shook my head, not meeting his eye. He snorted and then suddenly he was right in front of me. I jumped out of my chair, startled. "Stop doing that!" I grumbled before noticing how his eyes had lost any of their previous humor. They were so piercing that I felt exactly as I had the first time I had met him – about two centimeters tall. He had me frozen in his gaze again. "Are you saying that I'm not god at what I do?" He growled dangerously. I didn't even know what he was talking about but I shook my head vigorously, unable to look away. "I think," He continued softly, taking a step towards me so I was forced to step back. "You just said that I can't do my job properly." I shook my head again, this time a little more desperately. "Damon, of course I didn't say that –" He stepped towards me again and I moved away and suddenly my back hit the wall. Damn it, I was trapped. He was about five inches away from me now, looking quite…._scary._ "Oh my God, Damon!" I snapped, pushing him away. He lost the serious look and a grin spread across his face. "I _do_ scare you." He said smugly. I glared at him just as the timer beeped for the quiche. He glanced at it and turned to me, still smiling. "Still hungry?"

We stayed up late that night. Drinking wine and exchanging stories. Damon, it turned out, was a marvellous story teller and had me doubled up in laughter several times. It was only after the candles were melted to stubs and our glasses were empty for the third time that the topic of conversation turned to me. "I grew up in Mystic Falls," I explained, my speech slightly slurred at this stage. "My mom, my dad, Jeremy and me. I was basically the stereotype of a teenage girl. I had perfect grades, was a cheerleader, had a boyfriend, all that." I stopped as I thought about the next part of my story. Damon watched me from the other end of the couch, his eyes dark. "Go on." He encouraged quietly. I hiccupped then continued, staring into my empty glass. "And then…everything fell apart. I finished school and I had to get used to the real world. My parents were killed and my boyfriend cheated on me and I didn't know what to do. My world was shattered into a million pieces and I knew I would never be able to put them back together again." I looked up at him, smiling sadly. "So I did the thing I've always loved, the thing that helped me see sense no matter what." "Writing." He said softly. It wasn't a question. I nodded. "Writing. I applied for jobs all over the place, and I ended up working at the Daily Prophet. It was a stupid tabloid, I knew that, but at least it let me do the one thing that hadn't screwed itself up for me." He was looking at me and it was hard to tell what the emotion in his eyes was because of the flickering light. "You will be happy again Elena." He said gently. I nodded, blinking away the moisture in my eyes. "I have been happy – since I came here." I said very quietly. He didn't say anything for a minute and then he replied just as quietly, "I've been happy too."

**I really hope y'all enjoyed! Let me know, and thank you so very much for reading! See you soon my darlings!**

**x**


	7. Chapter 6

**Hello my darlings! Ooh I hope you enjoy this chapter - we can have a chat about it at the end :) I don't think there should be, but if there's any spelling/grammar mistakes or whatever, it's because my keyboard has gone a bit wonky, I promise. Enjoy the chapter sweeties, and I'll see you at the end! **

I woke up feeling incredibly sleepy. It took me a moment to place my surroundings – I was in the main room in the apartment, on the couch…lying beside Damon? Pretty much on Damon, if I was being perfectly honest. My head was on his shoulder and his arm was draped very lightly around me. He was asleep, I realised. I had a strong debate with myself as to whether I would just go back asleep or actually get up because I was incredibly comfortable and he smelled really nice. It was at this last thought that I realised how pathetic I had become. "Damon." I groaned, sitting up and squinting around. "Damon, wake up, we fell asleep." He sighed and opened his eyes. "Couldn't we have stayed asleep?" He grumbled. I smiled sleepily and stood up. "Come on. Time for bed." He sighed again but stood up. "W-what time is it?" I asked, yawning as I rubbed my eyes. He checked his watch. "3am." I blinked at him tiredly and suddenly noticed how not sleepy he looked. "How are you not tired?" I asked, yawning again. He shrugged, looking smug. "I don't get tired. Come on, I'll take you to your room." I groaned and he rolled his eyes and suddenly scooped me up like I weighed ten pounds.

I protested but he ignored me and continued to carry me out of the room. "Put me down Damon!" I squeaked, struggling slightly. "Elena, you're not going to get to your room without my help. Along with that, you fight like an angry kitten. Give it a rest." I stopped at this but felt incredibly awkward until we reached my room. He set me down gently and guided me into my room. "I don't know how you sleep with people all the time." I said sleepily as I sat on my bed. "I mean, how do you go with that little sleep?" He snorted. "Elena, you can sleep after having sex with someone you know." I blushed. "I know that." I mumbled. "I just thought that you wouldn't get much…just leave it." I clambered under the covers. "Night…Damon." I heard him chuckle quietly as he made his way out of the room. "Good night Ms. Gilbert."

I slept in again the next morning. This time however, I guessed that Damon had too, because he didn't appear to wake me up. I sat up, stretching and memories of last night flooded back to me. Staying up late talking with Damon, sleeping on him, him carrying me to bed – it all seemed so long ago. I shook my head at the weirdness of it. Had someone told me that I would be slowly becoming fond of Damon Salvatore a month ago, I would have thought they were mad and told them so. But now…I smiled to myself and hopped out of bed to grab breakfast in the kitchen.

I munched on a granola bar as I texted Aunt Jenna. _I've got my dress all readyJ _ she texted me as I took a sip of coffee. I realised that I hadn't a clue what I was going to wear to the ball. When I told Aunt Jenna this, I got back _Go shopping today!_ Actually, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. My day was clear, as far as I knew. I could work on the book and then go and find something to wear. I texted Caroline to see if she had any advice. Ten minutes later, my phone binged. _Wear blue and go with a ball gown. It'll suit you. And don't forget the mask! _I obviously needed to check with Damon if this was ok first before I made any big decisions. I made my way to his room and knocked quietly. "Come in." I heard him say after a moment. I gingerly opened the door and stepped inside.

The lights were off and the curtains still drawn. I saw that he was still in bed, now sitting up when he saw me. He wasn't wearing a shirt, as far as I could see. I realised that I had never been in Damon's room before – it wasn't the simple plain colour scheme I thought it would be. It was full of rich reds and golds. His bed was massive, bigger than any king sized bed I had ever seen. I realised he was waiting while I drooled over his room.  
"Are you ok?" He asked worriedly. I tried not to think about how good he looked in his bed and nodded. "Sorry to bother you. I was just wondering if it was ok if I went dress shopping today. You know, for the ball." He sighed and lay back down again. "Knock yourself out. Take the day off if you want. You've written enough of that book for the time being." I was surprised at this. "Are you sure? I mean, it's no trouble –" "Elena." He said, sitting up again to look at me with narrowed eyes. "_Go_." A smile spread across my face and I beamed at him. "Thank you, thank you!" I would have hugged him, had he not been half naked, in bed and Damon. He simply smirked at me and lay back down. "Close the door on your way out please sweetheart!" Was his last comment as I bounced out of the room.

I let my fingers trail over the silky materials of the ball gowns. I had come to _Gale's Boutique _under recommendation from Caroline. I could see why she liked the place – it was every girls dream. Sparkly lights, countless mirrors and hundreds upon hundreds of dresses in every style, colour and shape. My _personal _assistant, Lindsey, was a perky blonde who wasn't that dissimilar to a Caroline. "What kind of dress are you looking for today sweetie? What's the occasion?" She chirped as we circled the massive floor. "A ball gown. It's for a masquerade ball." I explained, lingering on an ivory mermaid dress. "Not…not the _Salvatore ball?_" She asked in a hushed voice. I grinned and nodded. She squealed and clapped her hands together. "We have to make sure you look a picture! What colour were you hoping for?" I shrugged. "My friend recommended blue?" I asked, uncertain as to whether this was a good choice. But the beam on her face told me that Caroline had been right. "You stay right here and I'll go and grab a few dresses I think will suit you."

"I don't think this is it." I sighed as I stepped out of the changing area with the tenth dress. Lindsey pursed her lips as she looked at the dress. It was beautiful; it just didn't work on me. "You're right. We're getting closer though." Her eyes lit up suddenly and she clapped her hands together. "Take that dress off – I know exactly what will suit you! I'll be right back!" I couldn't help but feel weary as I stepped back behind the curtain to shimmy out of the dress. I shivered in my underwear for a few minutes until Lindsey reappeared. She presented the dress with a flourish and I couldn't help but gaze at it. It was a deep, deep blue, with a touch of diamond beading on the bodice and a full skirt that was dotted with diamonds as well. It looked like the night sky. I reached out to touch it gently, terrified I would ruin it. "Try it on babe." Lindsey encouraged. When I didn't move, she laughed and shoved it at me. "I'll be out here if you need me."

I emerged from the changing room a few minutes later and Lindsey's entire face lit up. "You look so beautiful." She breathed. I couldn't help but gaze at myself in one of the many mirrors. The dress was _perfect_. The bodice showed off my curves and the skirt flared out perfectly. It just brushed the floor and accentuated my creamy skin and brunette hair. I grinned as I twirled to look at it from every angle. "It's amazing!" I squealed happily, spinning around to hug the happy blonde. Lindsey laughed and then handed me a mask. "I thought this might go with it." She said triumphantly as I examined the fragile mask. It was beautifully crafted, the same colour as the dress with silver detailing and a flair of feathers at the side. I held it to my face and had I not been examining myself five seconds ago, I would have barely recognised the girl in the mirror. She looked alluring, mysterious, dare I say it, _sexy_. Lindsey appeared in my reflection, smiling smugly. "With that dress, you'll have no trouble seducing even Damon Salvatore." She winked and I grinned back at her.

By the time I had finished admiring myself, taken off the dress and found the perfect shoes, it was past four o' clock. After I had paid for everything, I got a taxi home as I was terrified something would happen to the gown. I arrived into the apartment in an extremely happy mood, only heightened when I smelled something delicious cooking. "I'm home!" I called and Damon appeared from the kitchen. "You took your time." He drawled. I stuck my tongue out at him. "I'm on a day off silly. I can take as long as I like." He rolled his eyes and gestured to the bag. "Can I see?" I glared at him. "Of course you can't! It's a _surprise_." "Well then, won't your date be pleased?" He said, and there was a flash of something in his eyes. "I don't have a date." I said, confused. He raised an eyebrow. "You told me you did. I asked if you were going with anyone and you said yes." I looked at him for a minute, completely blank and then it clicked. "I meant I was going with Aunt Jenna and Jeremy!" I laughed. "I don't have a long line of gentleman suitors waiting to sweep me off my feet and bring me to the ball." He snorted but he was grinning. "I've making pizza for dinner. Want some?" "Can I help you?" I asked excitedly. Although I was able to make basic food, I had always wanted to be able to cook properly. He grimaced and I glared at him. "It's nothing personal sweetheart. I just generally cook alone." "That's because you're always on your own." I pointed out, gently placing the bag on the couch. I spun around to him, beaming. "Now you have me!" He sighed. "Fine. Come on then darling – let's see if your true calling is as a chef."

I was assigned with the strenuous task of chopping tomatoes. Damon watched me carefully, wincing any time I didn't make an exactly perfect cube. Eventually I got fed up of this and glared at him. "Why don't you show me how it's done then, Mr. Perfect." He grinned and stood behind me, putting his hands over mine gently. "You need to be more even." He explained, moving my hands with his. I was more focusing on how close he was to me but when I finally snapped back to reality and saw a pile of perfectly diced tomatoes on the chopping board in front of me. "Piece of cake." He murmured in my ear. I tried to pretend that I wasn't squealing inwardly by elbowing him. "I'll tell you what. You sit down for now and I'll give you a proper cooking lesson some other time. Ok?" I nodded grumpily and he looked immensely pleased that his precious pizza wouldn't be ruined.

"Who are you bringing to the ball then?" I asked, flopping down on a chair. He didn't turn around but I was sure he was smiling to himself. "I don't bring a date. I just steal everyone else's." I rolled my eyes. "Well, aren't you cocky? "Charming." He corrected, smirking at me. "Don't be jealous though, Ms. Gilbert. I'll be sure to save a dance for you." "I'm honoured." I said sarcastically as I stood up. "I'm going to go hang up my dress. As long as you're _positive_ you won't need me now." He rolled his eyes. "Scram, sweetheart. I'll call you when dinner's ready." "Why thank you Mr. Charming." I said mockingly, nudging his arm as I walked by. "How incredibly kind of you." He sighed as I hurried out of the room, giggling.

After admiring the dress for a little while, texting Bonnie, Caroline and Aunt Jenna and prancing around in my new shoes, Damon appeared at the door, holding a plate of something that smelled delicious. "Dinner is served." He said dryly. I grinned at him and grabbed the plate. "Sit down and eat with me!" I said happily, hopping onto the bed. The smallest twitch of the lips appeared on his face and he followed me inside. "Just don't get crumbs on the covers or I'll murder you." I warned as he sat down beside me. He glanced at the duvet. "Sweetheart, these are _my _covers. I can tip the entire pizza onto them if I want." "But you've donated them to me, along with the room, for three months. Subsequently, they're mine. _And I don't like crumbs." _I hissed. He looked around the room. "What's wrong?" I asked anxiously, following his gaze. "It's just strange. Seeing all of your things here. You're right; it is your room."  
He sounded weirdly serious when he said this, so I tried to lighten the mood. "I'll be out of your hair in a few months." I said as cheerfully as I could, when realisation hit me that this statement was true. In about 90 days, I would be gone from the Orchid, gone from New York and gone from Damon Salvatore's life. This saddened me more than I liked. We both nibbled quietly on the pizza for a while. "I can really taste the perfectly cubed tomatoes." I said eventually, more to break the silence than anything else. He smirked at me. "Only certain people have the talent to dice tomatoes perfectly. I wouldn't worry about your lack of skill." I snorted just as my phone began to ring. "It's Jeremy." I said, checking the caller ID. I glanced up at Damon, who was already standing up. "You talk to your brother sweetheart." "Are you sure?" He nodded and tiptoed out as I answered the phone. "Hi Jer!"

Jeremy and I ended up talking for hours. I hadn't really thought about how much I had missed him, so hearing his voice was a bit of a shock. He was so excited for the ball and I couldn't help but grin as he enthused about his latest girlfriend, Anna. By the time I hung up, it was nine o clock. When I walked back into the kitchen, Damon was at the table on his computer. He looked up and smiled at me. "How's your brother?" "Good. Really excited for the ball." I opened the fridge to grab a bottle of water. I thought I felt his eyes on my back but when I turned back around, he was looking at the screen. "Doing anything interesting?" I asked, plopping myself down beside him. "Just emails. The last one actually." I watched as he tapped out the last few sentences, hit the _send _button and then turned to me. "I just settled a billion dollar deal." He said smugly and I practically spat out my water. "A _billion _dollars?" I spluttered when I eventually stopped chocking. "Damon, that's insane!" I thumped him by way of congratulations. "I think alcohol is in order." I hopped up and opened the fridge to grab one of the many bottles of champagne. I eventually managed to wrench it open, found two glasses and then I spun around to him, grinning, where he was looking at me quite bemusedly. I handed him a glass and filled it, along with my own. We toasted and I flopped down beside him again. "You know, I don't know how I'll ever go back to normal champagne. But this stuff would probably cost me more than half of my salary." I said, examining my glass. Damon chuckled. "I'll send you a bottle each Christmas." He promised and I forced him to toast to that too.

I woke up the next morning to a text from Caroline. _The lingerie worked ;), _it said and I couldn't help but smile. My phone said it was only 8 am but I was completely awake. I decided to have a quick shower, grab breakfast and then work on the book.

After my shower, when I was completely naked in the bathroom and massaging vanilla body lotion into my skin, I heard my bedroom door open. "I'm just in here." I called, presuming it was one of the faceless maids who I knew scurried around the place in the morning and kept the place tidy. But then my bathroom door swung open and Damon stepped in. "Damon!" I screeched, grabbing the nearest towel I could and clutching it around myself. He stopped when he saw me, covered only by a towel – quite a short towel at that. It barely covered the vital parts. He laughed when he noticed my red as a tomato face. "Elena." He asked, sitting down in the chaise lounge in the bathroom. "Why are you naked?" I stared at him in disbelief. "I was having a shower, and then you just barged in!" I spluttered indignantly. He rolled his eyes. "Listen sweetheart, throw some clothes on because I came in to tell you I have to go down to the office today and it'd probably be a good idea for you to come as well. You can take notes and explore." I nodded, still bright red. He raised an eyebrow when I didn't move. "Are you getting dressed or what?" I would have thumped him, had my hands not been clutching the towel around me. I was pretty sure if I moved at all, it would ride up and expose…well, me. "Damon, get out!" "Are you sure you want me to leave?" He teased, waggling his eyebrows at me. I glared at him and he threw up his hands in mock defeat. "Fine, I'll go. Meet me at the door in twenty minutes." "Hair takes longer than that to dry!" I called after him. I could imagine him rolling his eyes. "Half an hour then!" He called back and disappeared from sight. I sighed and began my frantic hair drying regime.

I glanced in the mirror twenty eight minutes later. I had tied my hair up into a neat bun and I was wearing a simple black pencil skirt and white blouse and black heels. I thought I looked professional, even if the blouse was a little bit low cut. A _little_. I grabbed my bag, along with my computer and hurried out of the room.

Damon was waiting for me by the door. As I approached, I thought I saw him looking me up and down and something flashed across his face but then it was gone and he had his usual smug look. "Don't you look like a little business woman?" He purred. I touched my hair self consciously as he walked out into the hallway. "I haven't had breakfast yet." I warned, following him. "You can get something in the office." "Isn't this meant to be a holiday, this whole trip to New York?" I asked as the lift brought us down. Damon smiled to himself. "Technically yes. But being realistic, that never happens." "Must be stressful." I said, and realized how stupid it sounded. Obviously running a multi million dollar business was _stressful_ Elena. He didn't laugh like I thought he would however and simply shrugged. "I've known since I was young that it was my future. I have Stefan as well." I nodded as we stepped out into the lobby.

The atmosphere changed as soon as Damon stepped out into the place. Everyone froze, looked terrified and pretended to go back to work. It was weird when I remembered how completely scared I had been of him when I first met him. Back then, he had just been some scary guy who could squash my career. Now I knew him as just…Damon. Sure, he was still scary and sure he could still squash my career but he could also make me smile more than anyone else and he made me food and took care of me when I was sick and he brought me out to dinner and he let me sleep on his shoulder and he carried me to bed when I was tired and he made me pizza and ate it with me on his bed and he was so much more than I thought and…oh my God. _Oh my God._ _OH MY GOD. _I froze in the middle of the lobby and Damon glanced at me. "You ok?" I stared at him. _Oh my God Oh my God Oh my God Oh my God. _"Fine." I said breathlessly. _I liked Damon. I liked liked Damon. _Obviously I had been attracted to him before that, because hell, with a face like that, who wouldn't be? But I actually liked _him_. _Oh my God. _I realized he was looking at me strangely. "Come on then!" I said a little too chirpily, striding past him. I heard him laugh behind me and he followed me._ I liked him. I liked the scariest, meanest, most ruthless man in business._

I slid into the car seat, mind whirring. Damon got in beside me and started the engine. "You sure you're ok sweetheart?" I realized I had been staring out of the window in a complete daze. "Of course I'm ok! It's just really early." At least this was true. He seemed to accept this and he pulled out smoothly, only looking at me slightly strangely a few more times.

About fifteen minutes later, we pulled into the car park of a tall building with the familiar _Salvatore Enterprises _sign on the front. Damon hopped out of the car and opened my door for me. "Thank you Mr. Salvatore." I said, hopping out of the car as gracefully as I could. He grinned and shut the door behind me and offered me his arm. "What's with this sudden burst of affection, hm?" I asked, my heart fluttering. "Well, I just saw you practically naked. A gentleman wouldn't treat a lady the same way after that." I glared at him. "Since when are you a gentleman?" I snorted, but took his arm lightly. He grinned down at me and led me to the reception area.

Damon being there had the same effect as in the hotel. Everyone grew tense. Damon ignored them all however and walked up to the reception desk. A young, perky looking girl looked up happily. Her smile faltered when she saw who it was. "Mr. Salvatore?" She asked shakily. I squeezed his arm slightly to remind him to be nice. He sighed and then he put on his 'kind' voice. "I was told that I had someone waiting to meet me?" The girl nodded frantically. "Oh yes, I have the information just here…somewhere." She scrambled desperately for a piece of paper. She eventually found it and handed it to him triumphantly. He examined it quickly and turned to me. "Will you be alright looking around on your own for a bit?" I nodded and he turned to the girl at the desk. "What's your name?" He asked and she blushed slightly. "Melanie. Melanie Picket. Sir." "Well Ms Pickett, will you please give my assistant a pass for the building and show her to the canteen? She hasn't had breakfast." He added the last part as an afterthought, shooting me a smirk. I rolled my eyes and he chuckled. "I'll text you when I'm finished. Enjoy exploring sweetheart." "Enjoy your meeting, Mr. Salvatore." I said, mock seriously. He winked at me and then he disappeared into the huge building. I smiled after him then turned to the girl, who was staring at me, looking a little shocked. "Would you mind showing me where the canteen is?" I asked her kindly. She didn't look much older than 19. She nodded vigorously and stood up quick. "Here's your pass." She said, handing me a card. "Clip it to your shirt and no one will stop you from going anywhere in the building. I'll show you to the canteen."

As we walked through the many hallways, Melanie kept glancing at me and then looking away quickly. I tried to keep up light chit chat but she seemed terrified. Eventually I decided to put her out of her misery. "I'm not going to get you fired if you say anything, I promise." She giggled but looked at me curiously. "How do you know Mr. Salvatore?" She asked timidly. I struggled for an explanation. "I'm his assistant." I said eventually. "You two are like a married couple or something." She said, smiling slightly. This startled me slightly. "He...he's an interesting person to be with." I said honestly. She laughed and then we emerged into a huge open hall. "Here we are. Do you want me to grab something for you?" I shook my head, grinning at her. "I'm fine. Thank you so much for your help." She smiled sweetly at me and then hurried off.

I grabbed a pot of fruit salad and an orange juice but decided to take it on the go. I walked through the long corridors, glancing into the odd office and seeing people frantically working. The odd person gave me a funny look but most of them ignored me simply because they were in such a hurry. I passed a few rooms with meetings on but mainly they were just single offices.

After a little while, I plopped myself down on a bench and began to nibble on my fruit salad. (Which was delicious.) I sat there for about half an hour, just watching everyone go by. Suddenly someone sat down beside me. He was tall, handsome enough but slightly slimy looking, with overly slicked back hair and too white teeth, which were grimaced at me in a fake smile. "Hello gorgeous." He cooed, putting a hand on my leg. "I haven't seen you around here before." I glared at him in disgust and got up to walk away. But then he grabbed my arm and forced me to sit back down. I looked up and down the hallway desperately and saw it was empty. The man leered at me, his face about five inches from mine. "Don't worry sugar, it's just the two of us." "Get off of me!" I snapped, trying to yank my arm free. But he kept his grip and instead his hand began to inch under my skirt. "When I saw you at the other end of the corridor, I knew you'd be fun." "Stop it!" I cried but he simply leaned in to kiss me.  
"What the hell?" At that voice, the man instantly released me and sprung up. "Mr. Salvatore, sir." His voice became less leery immediately. Damon looked absolutely _furious._ "What the hell do you think were you doing, Parkers?" The man raked a hand through his hair, looking down at me quickly. "I…nothing sir, nothing at all. I didn't know you were in the office." Damon took a step towards him, his eyes flashing with pure white rage. Even I was beginning to feel quite scared of him at this point. "You don't ever treat a woman like that in my company Parkers, or anyone else's for that matter. _Ever._ Is that clear?" The man nodded quickly. "Yes sir. Sorry sir." He turned to go and I winced. It was never a good idea to turn your back on Damon when he was this angry. The man clearly began to regret it too, because Damon started laughing cruelly. "You think you still have a job here?" He demanded angrily, striding up to the man. "Get your things and get out of the building Parkers. I'll have you arrested if you even _think _about setting foot on my property again." Parkers stared at him in horror but obviously knew better than to argue. He muttered something and hurried away.

Damon watched him go, and then turned to me. I flinched, seeing that his eyes showed how he was still incredibly angry. "Are you ok?" He asked emotionlessly. I nodded, smoothing down my skirt. "Fine." I replied hoarsely. He shook his head, raking a hand through his raven black hair. "Thank…thank you for stopping him." I said timidly. He turned to look at me in what seemed like disbelief. He looked like he wanted to say something but then changed his mind. "Let's go to my office. I'll get you a coffee or something."

We walked to his office in silence. When we eventually reached the huge mahogany door, he opened it for me and I stepped inside. It was very similar to his office in Mystic Falls – a huge desk, a massive glass window overlooking New York and an armchair opposite the desk. Very little else, apart from the luxurious carpet and heavy drapes. "Sit down." He said quietly. I perched down on the edge while he disappeared into some cupboard to get the coffee maker. After a few minutes, he finally managed to get it to work and he handed me a cup roughly. "Thanks." I mumbled, taking a sip of it. He sat down heavily in the chair opposite, and although he had a mug of his own, he didn't touch it. He just stared angrily down at the desk, clenching his knuckles until they were completely white.  
"Damon" I said gently after a couple of minutes. "It's ok. Honestly." This must have caused him to snap because before I knew it, he was standing up and leaning across the desk to look at me angrily. "What on earth makes you think that that is ok?" He snarled. I winced but gingerly touched his arm. "Damon, seriously, you don't need to stress about it-" "But I _do _Elena!" He snapped, yanking his arm out of my touch. "I do need to stress about it! Don't you understand how I felt when I saw him nearly kissing you? How angry that made me, the thought that someone else could have you that way?" I stared at him, and I felt stupidly confused. "What…what do you mean Damon?" I asked slowly. He took a deep, shuddering breath and when he opened his eyes again, they were strangely clear. "I can't stand the thought of someone else getting to have you. The thought of someone else kissing you, touching you, hugging you, any of it."  
"Why not?" I asked, urgently now. "You know why not Elena –" "_Why not Damon_?" I repeated, desperately this time. I was standing up at this stage, facing him. He didn't say anything for a moment and simply looked at me. Then finally, he spoke. "Because I want you for myself." He said softly.

I stared at him, heart pounding. "Well, what are you going to do about it?" I whispered. A flicker of a smile appeared on his lips and he walked towards me. "This." He said quietly, a few inches away from me. And then his lips pressed down on mine and he was kissing me hard and I was kissing him back, wrapping my arms around his neck and running my hands through his raven hair. He groaned and turned me and pressed me against the wall, kissing me hungrily. His lips were cool and soft and tasted like vanilla and from what I could tell, molded against mine perfectly. I pulled away at one stage to look his once icy blue eyes, now warm. "I just kissed Damon Salvatore." I said wondrously and he smirked at me. "You're _kissing _Damon Salvatore." He corrected, before crashing his lips down on mine again.

I haven't a clue how long we were there, pressed up against his office wall. We only stopped when the office door opened and Melanie stepped inside. I sprang away from him, blushing bright red. She looked horrified as well. "Oh my goodness, Mr. Salvatore, I'm so so sorry! I'll come back later, I didn't realize you were here and I'm just – sir, 'm so sorry!" She gabbled. Damon sighed and shook his head. "No, no, Ms. Picket. It's fine. What did you want?" She was still bright red, as was I. She kept nervously glancing at me as she shakily handed him a folder. "It's just all of the information from your meeting today. I thought you were gone home, I figured I would just leave it on your desk. I'm so sorry for barging in." Damon held up a hand and cut her off. "It's fine Ms. Picket, genuinely. Thank you very much for the file." She nodded and scurried out. Damon tossed the folder on his desk and turned to me. I had never been stuck for words with Damon before, but I certainly was right now. He laughed gently when he saw my blush. "You look like you've been very thoroughly kissed." He murmured, softly touching my swollen lips with his thumb. "In all fairness, I have been." I pointed out. He chuckled and I realized he didn't look flustered at all. "How do you look so…calm?" I complained. He winked at me and offered me his arm, like he had at the start of the day. "Do you want to go home?" He asked silkily. I pretended to consider. "Can we kiss some more there too?" He smirked and kissed my cheek. "If you're lucky." He purred in my ear. I grinned at him and bumped my nose with his. "Let's go then."

**:D :D :D **

**WHAT DID WE THINK? I fangirled so much during this chapter, I swear to goodness. I was thinking about it all day, not concentrating on anything but this.**

**So, main development is: DAMON AND ELENA FKDAL;FKLLGRJKGR. I hope the chapter met y'all's expectations. And aw, did you like the ball gown scene? I had so much fun writing that, I was like researching ball gowns and shoes and masks and it was just great altogether. **

**I decided to update quickly because I'm not sure when exactly the next chapter will be up. Hopefully the weekend, but it's the masquerade ball chapter next and it will take a while to type that up - I want it to be perfect. **

**Till next time,**

**Bye my darlings!**

**x**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hello my lovelies! I can't apologise enough for how long it took for this chapter to arrive but it's a long one (7000 words? Hello!) and I've been insanely busy. I really hope you like this one, because it's probably the second last chapter D: I'll have another one obviously but after that, I think it'll be the end to You're in Paradise now! I'm going to have so much free time - but none of that sadness right now. Enjoy the chapter! Oh and if there's any other Delena stories you'd like me to think about writing, do let me know because I'd love to start thinking about my next one. Anyway, carry on and enjoy the chapter!**

He kissed me again as soon as he opened the door to the room. I succumbed straight away, wrapping my arms around his neck as he picked me up so my legs were around him. I had never been kissed this way before, not with such raw, intense passion. He whispered my name a few times and I, in return, whimpered back. His lips trailed down from my lips to my neck and I had to bite my lip to keep myself from moaning out loud. "You're so beautiful." He murmured, lifting his head to look at me with his piercing eyes. I gazed at him, feeling my insides turn to mush and just as our lips touched again, I heard the door open.

I squeaked and shoved him off just as Caroline bounded in, followed by Stefan. I glanced nervously at Damon, and even he was looking a bit flushed. "Why are you two home so early?" He asked smoothly as Caroline hugged me tightly. I noticed Stefan looking between the two of us curiously but he answered normally. "I got your message about the meeting. I figured you might want some backup." Backup? I looked at him in confusion. But Damon seemed nonchalant, and shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't do any harm. I'll call the lawyer now." He left without even another look at me and I found myself staring after him. Caroline brought me back from my distraction however by squeezing my hand tightly. "You need to show me your dress!" She squealed excitedly, beginning to drag me towards my room. I took a final wistful look towards the direction Damon had gone and Stefan caught my eye. He smiled sadly and shook his head slightly and I was left with a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Elena, that's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Caroline said in awe, lightly touching the deep blue material. I stroked it as well; even more thrilled about it than I had been when I saw it first. "And if you pin half of your hair up, and curl it…Elena! You're going to look so stunning!" I grinned at her and she beamed back. "We can get ready together! I can do your makeup for you! This is going to be the best ball _ever_!" I gingerly hung the dress back up and turned back to her, seeing that she was now lying up on my pillows on one side and I was struck by how much she looked like a model. Then again, everyone did in this world.  
She patted the bed beside her seductively, waggling her eyebrows. "Come and lie with me, my little innocent friend." I rolled my eyes but hopped onto the bed beside her. "How was your weekend with Stefan?" I asked and a smug smile spread across her face. "_Very _good, thank you very much." She smirked and I caught the innuendo behind her words (it would have been hard not to, to be honest.) and made a face at her. "Too much information!" I complained and she giggled.

"I'm starving." She groaned suddenly and her eyes lit up. "Let's go out to dinner!" This actually sounded like a very appealing suggestion and I got up off the bed. "I'll go and check with the guys if they want to come." I offered and she made a 'get on with it' motion.

As I walked up the hall to where Stefan and Damon were having a meeting or whatever. I tiptoed up quietly as I didn't want to just barge in. They seemed to be having a fairly heated conversation. "Damon, it's wrong!" Stefan was saying angrily. I could practically hear Damon shrugging lazily. "Damon, you can't treat her the way Katherine treated you." This caused my ears to perk up and I hung back quietly, waiting to hear a bit more.  
"Stefan, I'll thank you not to interfere in my personal life please." Damon hissed at him. "She's a nice girl Damon; I won't have you messing with her feelings! I understand that this entire situation is uncomfortable for you but that doesn't mean that you can just screw around with her!" My heart began sinking at the start of this sentence and so far it hadn't stopped. I heard Damon stand up angrily. "Brother, I didn't ask for your opinion on the whole thing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find –" He threw open the door and caught sight of me. "Elena."

I stared at him and I knew that he knew I had heard the whole conversation. His eyes softened and he took a step towards me. "What _is _the situation Damon?" I heard myself ask and my voice was unsteady. "It's nothing Elena, it's just –" "_Tell me Damon._" I said desperately and he looked slightly surprised. Before he could say anything else, Stefan appeared in the doorway. "Katherine's bought a third of our shares." He said dully and I felt my heart thump faster and faster as I stared in horror at the ground. "That's why you kissed me. Not because you wanted me." I said softly, and as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew that I was right. I raised my eyes to his and saw he was shaking his head slightly. "Elena, no, that's not –" "You wanted something to call your own." I said quietly. "I was the nearest thing and you _knew _I liked you and…oh wow."  
Before I knew exactly what I was doing, I was right in front of him. "You're a bastard Damon Salvatore." I whispered up to him and then I slapped him.

His head snapped to the side and judging by the look of total shock on his face, this hadn't happened to him that often. I didn't wait for him to say anything however, I just turned on my heel and stormed away, fuming inside.  
Caroline sat up as soon as I slammed the door to my bedroom. "What's wrong?" She asked anxiously and the whole story spilled out straight away. She grew more and more annoyed until the end when she was pacing back and forth, muttering angrily about Damon. She squealed in delight when I came to the slapping him part and then growled something about having to do something for a minute. She disappeared out of the room and a few seconds later, I heard shouting.  
I sighed and flopped on the bed, curling into a tight ball. I hated the way my heart was aching so painfully – I tried to block it out but it just kept coming back.  
I lay there for what felt like hours until I finally felt a cool hand on my shoulder. I groaned and sat up to see Damon raising an eyebrow at me. "I don't think I've ever been slapped so much in my life." He said ruefully and I glared at him. "You deserve it." I snapped.  
He smiled slightly and gestured to the bed. "May I sit?" "I'd really rather you didn't." I replied sharply but of course, he ignored this and sat down anyway. I sat with my knees tucked against my chest, determined to keep as much distance between us as possible.  
"You're right - In the office, I initially kissed you because I needed something that I could claim. You were the nearest thing." He began and I shook my head in disgust, going to get up off the bed. But then he caught my wrist, making me stay where I was. I hated myself for feeling a spark when he touched me. "I said initially, Ms. Gilbert. Do you really think I would have stayed there that long, pressed with you against the wall of my office had I not felt something?"  
I blushed at the memory of the two of us making out in his office. "And then," He continued. "We came home and I kissed you again and I've never felt more intense about someone." "Well, that's easy for you to say now." I said softly and he sighed. "What can I do Elena? What can I do to make you believe me?" I hesitated but I was determined not to fall into the endlessness of his eyes again. "Nothing." I said bluntly, standing up. "I won't believe you Damon, no matter what you do. There'll always be doubt in my mind." I made my way to the door but just as I opened it, his hand appeared to slam it shut. I turned around to glare at him but before I could, he kissed me hard, twisting his hand in my hair. I froze, too startled to anything else. I stood like a statue, determined not to give into this, but then he pulled away for a moment and his eyes were so calm yet wild and his lips were so perfectly kissable and his hair was slightly ruffled and he looked like total perfection and just like millions of other girls before me, I knew I was unable to resist Damon Salvatore.

I pulled him to me and kissed him back, our lips moving in perfect unison. "Do you really think I'd be kissing you like this if I didn't have feelings for you?" He murmured, kissing me gently on my forehead. "Maybe?" I whispered uncertainly. He smiled and kissed the tip of my nose. "You're wrong." He whispered back. "When it comes to you Elena, it's impossible not to be put under your spell." I touched his cheek with my fingertips hesitatingly. "You're the one with the spell, Mr. Salvatore."  
There was a sudden knock on the door, along with Caroline's impatient voice. "Open up!"  
I giggled and Damon released me and Caroline exploded in, followed by Stefan. She took in both of our expressions, my swollen lips and my red cheeks and how close we were standing together and raised an eyebrow. "I don't think I'm going to see the bloodbath I wanted to see." She said disappointedly.  
Damon snorted and Caroline sighed. "Well then, I guess there's not much to see here. Come on Stefan, let's leave the lovebirds alone." Stefan took a second to look at the two at us intently but then followed her out. Before she disappeared completely, Caroline spun back around to me. "You're going to be busy from now on with helping me with the ball. We're going to check out the venue tomorrow and we have a million things to do after that. So enjoy your time together." She smiled warmly and left and Damon turned to me, smirking. "Where were we?" He murmured.

Caroline hadn't been kidding about the busy thing. For the following week, I barely saw the apartment, let alone Damon. We were driving all over the place, ensuring that venue, flowers, ice sculptures, guest list, food and an endless list of other things were perfect. Not that it wasn't fun – I had never seen Caroline this excited, and by the end of it I was closer to her than I had been any other friend.

Aunt Jenna and Jeremy arrived on the night before the ball and I was permitted the evening off to take them out to dinner. They were both thrilled to see me, as I was them. I had insisted that they stay in the Orchid and that I would pay for them and when Damon found out that I was paying for them, he became genuinely angry at me and insisted that they would stay for free in the best room. When I had tried to protest, he had simply kissed me until I let it go. He had been doing a lot of kissing me lately actually, not that I had been protesting. Every time I saw him, my breath still caught and I became positively lightheaded. Any free time we had together was mainly spent chatting with Stefan and Caroline, with each couple snuggled against each other on the couch. Life was fantastic, only made better by the fact that I had my family around me.

The morning of the ball dawned bright and early. Or it did for me at least, because Caroline leapt onto my bed and shook me until I woke up. "It's the big day!" She squealed in my ear, and I winced as I sat up sleepily. "What time is it?" I yawned, seeing that she was still in her silky pink night dress. "Eight am." She said happily. "But we have work to do! Throw on a tracksuit or whatever, you can shower and wash your hair later. We need to go and wake up the boys." I groaned but she yanked back the covers. "Get up lazybones! I'm going to get Stefan, you wake up Damon." I rolled out of bed and stumbled around a bit and she grinned and kissed my cheek and pulled me to the door. "I'll see you back here in a little bit."

I knocked tentatively on Damon's door and when he didn't reply, I opened the door and stepped inside. "Wake up sleepyhead." I murmured, tiptoeing towards his bed. I clambered up beside him and ruffled his black hair. His eyes opened and before I knew it, he was above me, and I was pinned to the pillow. "I could get used to waking up beside you Ms. Gilbert." He purred, kissing my forehead. I grinned up at him. "Even in the old, ratty pyjamas?" I teased and he glanced down at my tatty old huge t shirt and pyjama shorts. "Even in those." He grinned and kissed me again, on the lips this time.  
I let myself melt into the kiss, shivering as his fingers trailed up and down my body. I went to take off my pyjama top but he stopped me, catching my wrists. "We're not going to do that now." He whispered, kissing the tip of my nose. "Why not?" I pouted and he chuckled. "Because I'm going to make your first time amazing, but I'll need time and that's not something we have right now. Not when Caroline is involved anyway. Ok?" I kissed him and he pulled me up gently. "Judging by past experience, I'm probably not going to see you until tonight so take care until then Ms. Gilbert." I grinned and hugged him before I heard Caroline calling me impatiently and I had to dash because I knew I didn't want to get on her bad side today.

The morning _was _spent running (quite literally a lot of the time) around the place. Caroline was born to be a party planner however; she was perfectly calm the entire time, despite the fact that it turned out that the ice sculptures were carved as pantomime masks and not masquerade masks (Caroline threatened them gently with threats of crushing their entire business if they didn't fix it) and when it emerged that the flowers were pink and white roses instead of black and white, Caroline wondered aloud whether she should get Damon (yes, Salvatore) on the phone and that sorted out that problem pretty fast.

Finally, three o' clock rolled around and we had a hasty lunch before Caroline and I made our way to my bedroom to begin getting ready. This, I knew, would be the fun part of the day. We both had quick showers and washed our hair before applying both skin and hair masks that Caroline insisted would make our hair 'glossy, soft but manageable' and give our skin 'a Goddess glow'. My skin _was _fairly radiant when I peeled off the bright green gooey stuff and when I blow dried my hair, it was extremely shiny and soft. I was intrigued by Caroline's beauty regime – she spent triple the amount of time as I did in the bathroom and massaged about ten different body oils and lotions into her tan skin. When she was finally finished, she turned to me, grinning. "Time for your hair!" She squealed, dragging me over to the mirror.  
She produced a curling iron that looked extremely complicated and began to wrap small sections of my hair around it. I watched in slight wonder as my usually pin straight hair fell into beautiful soft curls. She spritzed it with hairspray and produced a beautiful clip, covered in what I guess were real diamonds. Carefully, she pinned back the upper section of my hair and spun me around to face her. "You look amazing." She said happily before opening her huge case of makeup. For the next hour, she sponged, smoothed and powdered and whenever I tried to make light conversation, she shushed me, deep in concentration. I eventually gave up and sat quietly like a good girl.

She gave my nose a last touch of powder then beamed at me. "I've worked my magic again!" She chirped happily, giving a dramatic bow. I rolled my eyes at her but froze when I caught sight of the girl in the mirror.  
She was _beautiful_. Creamy, flawless skin, with a slight bloom to her cheeks. Her lips were full, seductive, a dark red with a touch of gloss and her _eyes._ Her eyes were devastatingly gorgeous – chocolate brown, accentuated with a soft smokey eye lined with perfect liquid liner and full lashes. Her hair curled perfectly around her face, with a few tendrils having escaped from the clip and the rest swept back over her shoulder.  
I hesitatingly raised a shaky hand to touch my cheek. The girl in the mirror moved too, and had the same shocked expression as I did. It _was _me, I realized. This total beauty was me.  
Caroline squealed in delight and performed her own little victory dance. "Go put on your dress!" She cheered, beginning to curl her own hair.

I emerged a few minutes later, the dress swirling around me. I glanced in the mirror and sighed happily. I looked incredible, the best I ever had. I plopped myself down carefully to pull on my shoes and watched as Caroline quickly did her makeup – she had hers on in about fifteen minutes. She went for an extremely sultry look, and when she appeared with her dress on, I saw why.  
It was a tight, black mermaid style, with rows and rows of crystals. It flared out just around her knees into a swirl, and I caught glimpses of matte black shoes when she twirled around to show it off. Her hair was more sexily messy than mine, but then again, that was Caroline. We both gazed at each other then squealed, jumping up and down as much as the dresses and heels permitted. "We look so fantastic!" She cried, grabbing my hands. I checked the time quickly – it was half six. The ball started at seven, so we had to be out and in the limo within the next few minutes. We had agreed to go in a separate car to Stefan and Damon so they could leave earlier and we would just meet them there.

Caroline produced our masks and handed mine to me, grinning. I carefully fastened it and arranged my hair so the strap didn't show. Caroline appeared behind my reflection, her mask blackest black with crystals to match her dress. She squeezed my hand and I turned around to smile at her. "Let's get this show on the road." I said happily and we made our way out of the apartment.

The car was waiting for us when we went outside, so we were on our way pretty quickly. It took about half an hour to reach the massive venue (A huge, huge mansion on the outskirts of New York. Private grounds and all that) and when we pulled into the private car park reserved especially for the Salvatores, I saw hundreds of cars queued up the driveway. Our driver sailed right past them, and I could see those who had simply given up and started walking pointing at the car and whispering. Everyone looked glamorous and had masks and all of that obviously, but I couldn't help but feel slightly smug that my dress was _slightly _nicer than all of theirs.

Caroline was practically out of the seat before the car even stopped; it was obvious how excited she was. The driver opened our doors, tipped his hat to us and pulled away sleekly, although not before glancing wistfully at the huge house.  
"I've waited for this for a full year." She sighed happily, walking dreamily up the huge steps. I laughed and picked up my skirts and hurried after her.  
"Damon and Stefan will be waiting for us in a little room near the main ballroom." She explained as we followed the huge crowd of people into the beautiful hall. "We'll wait a few minutes for everyone to arrive and then we'll make our entrance, me with Stefan, you with Damon. Ok?" I nodded, though I felt slightly uncomfortable. Me with Damon? Wouldn't that imply that we were dating or something? I mean, in a way, we were but it sounded weird to say it out loud. Plus the press hadn't yet figured out about us, but I knew that once they did, it would be splashed on tabloids everywhere, as it always was when Damon went out with someone new. Caroline noticed my awkwardness and bumped her shoulder with mine. "You know how he feels about you." She said gently. "He always brings some ditzy blonde to this. It'll be nice for him to have you."

I nodded, swallowing my hesitation and grinned at her. "Let's not keep them waiting any longer then." I beamed, before grabbing her hand and pushing through the crowd, earning a few irritated glances but I didn't even care. I was with my best friend, going to see my sort of boyfriend, I was beautiful and I was happy.

After about twenty minutes, a butler, having found us wandering lost around the halls, directed us to the room we were supposed to be in. We thanked him profusely before Caroline winked at me and threw open the door.  
Stefan and Damon were waiting on the couch, Stefan looking worried and Damon irritated. They were both wearing black tuxedos, and I saw their masks were hung on the side of a table. Their faces completely changed when they saw us though.  
I vaguely saw Stefan get up and move to Caroline but I barely noticed – my eyes were locked on Damon. He was staring at me and his eyes flicked up and down, taking in my dress, my makeup, my hair, my everything. I waited with baited breath, positive he was going to tell me dismissively that I looked fine but he didn't. Something flashed across his face and there was an almost animal glint in his eye. He was up in a flash, forehead pressed against mine (with some difficulty as I was still wearing my mask) and trailed his fingers up and down my arm. "You," He growled. "Are the most beautiful creature I've ever seen in my life and I am _kicking _myself for not sleeping with you when I had the chance."  
Everything seemed to get a bit brighter as I beamed up at him. "So it's ok?" I asked, still a bit worried. He barked out a short laugh and shook his head before kissing me very lightly on the lips. "You're stunning." He murmured and I grinned and hugged him tightly, burying my face in his shoulder.  
Caroline shrieked from the corner and ran to wrench us apart. "You'll mess up her makeup!" She screeched, examining my face closely. I giggled, holding up my hands sheepishly and Stefan chuckled.  
"Come on kids, time to make our entrance. Are you ready to wow the crowds?" He offered his arm to Caroline, who glowed and took it. Damon bowed to me mock seriously. "Would you do me the honor, my beautiful Ms. Gilbert?" He teased and I curtseyed back. "It would be my pleasure, Mr. Salvatore." I swooned before grabbing his arm and dragging him out after the other two.

"Right, so the main ballroom has a staircase on either side. I'll address the crowd, and then we'll take the right, you take the left." Caroline instructed briskly as she marched down the hallway, the three of us trotting after her. She glanced at us and scowled. "Put on your masks!" She scolded and Stefan sighed and tossed Damon a simple black masquerade mask, who rolled his eyes and slipped it on. "You look incredibly delicious with that mask." I told him honestly, and he smirked lazily at me. Caroline shot us an irritated look and stopped outside a massive double door.  
"This is it!" She squeaked happily, grabbing Stefan's arm as Damon leaned down to purr quietly in my ear. "You know, Caroline booked us a hotel closer to this place for after the ball." He murmured. "And I know for a fact that she only booked two rooms with a king sized bed in each." It took me, the innuendo genius, a few moments to realize what he meant.

"Well I'm sorry Mr. Salvatore, but I guess that means you'll be sleeping on the ground." I teased, grinning at him. "I have to protect my virtue." He snorted just as the huge doors were opened and a hush fell over the enormous room.

We were standing on a large marble balcony above the _massive_ crowd of people, two grand staircases twirling around from each side to their level. I was stunned by the beauty of the room – it was dark outside, so its huge bay windows were covered by rich red curtains. The room was lit with hundreds upon hundreds of fairy lights, twinkling from all corners of the room. The room was divided mainly into a large dance area part, an orchestra assembled at the top to play music, and a 'mingling' area, as Caroline had put it in her plans – chairs, champagne and food. The colorful sea of people gazing up at us was quite mesmerizing, due to all of the masquerade masks and dresses. I subconsciously squeezed Damon's arm, feeling very _small. _The mask gave me some comfort as least.

Caroline cleared her throat quietly then beamed out at everyone. I knew she had been planning this speech for months, but I was still stunned by her confidence as she addressed the enormous group. "Welcome to our annual ball!" She called out clearly, her sweet voice ringing through the entire room. "As I'm sure you all know, this is our fifth year of this tradition and we do it to celebrate the successes and achievements of Salvatore Enterprises, of which there are many. Although if you happen to have talked to Damon recently, I'm sure he'll have told you that already." This got a chuckle from them and Damon grinned good humouredly. Caroline shot him a smile and continued. "I'd like to thank you all for coming. It's truly an honor to see so many of you here and I personally think this year is the best of the lot. So I won't go on any longer – enjoy the evening and I'm sure you'll be talking to at least one of us before the night is out. Enjoy yourselves!" The crowd burst into applause and she gave a cute curtsey, giggling with pure relief that it had gone well. She turned to us with a grin and gestured for us to begin walking down the staircase. I squeezed her hand as I walked past and she pulled me in for a kiss on the cheek. "This is going to be the best night ever." She whispered in my ear and with the atmosphere in the room and Damon on my arm, I couldn't have disagreed.

As soon as we reached the bottom of the staircase, people descended on Damon. He sighed and turned to me. "You go and grab a drink – I'll be over there in a few." He murmured to me and I grinned and blew him a kiss as an elderly man whipped off his mask to shake Damon's hand vigorously. He winked at me and turned to the man who was fighting for his attention.

I smiled to myself as I watched him talk to different people, sometimes with his cool façade, other times animatedly. After a while, I made my way towards the drinks area. It was amazing what a gorgeous dress could do for a girl's confidence. I poured myself a glass of champagne, thrilled when I realized it was the extremely expensive one that I like, and sipped it as I looked around the room.

Out of nowhere, someone threw their arms around me. I managed to hold in my yelp as I realized that it was Aunt Jenna. "You look so beautiful sweetheart!" She cried, holding me at arm's length. I beamed at her. "You look stunning too." I said and I meant it. She was wearing a simple, flowing champagne colored dress that complimented her golden hair perfectly. I glanced around for Jeremy but he was nowhere in sight. When I mentioned it, Jenna smirked.  
"The last I saw of him, he was trying to chat up some girl about ten years older than him. I left him to it." She replied dryly and I laughed and poured her a glass of champagne.

"What's happening with you and Damon Salvatore then?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she followed me to a group of chairs. I blushed. I hadn't exactly mentioned my whole relationship with Damon to them as I hadn't wanted them to start asking a load of awkward questions and then ask even more awkward questions in front of _him_.  
"Nothing really." I said as nonchalantly as I could and Jenna's expression told me she didn't believe a word. Still, she let it go and leaned back in her chair, taking in her surroundings.  
"It's all so…_wealthy_." She said sounding awed as she looked at the ice sculptures, the roses that had been specially grown, the huge cake in the corner that was about ten tiers high, different flavored layers with intricate piping all over it. I nodded, glancing around. The place did look amazing, but it was obvious that it had cost a small fortune. Then again, the Salvatores _had _a small fortune, and while a few months ago I would have bashed them for spending so much on a party and accused them of being selfish, now that I actually had lived with them, I knew that that was the furthest thing from the truth. Stefan and Damon donated thousands to charity each month; Caroline regularly bought new things and donated them straight to charity shops; heck, they had funded hospitals and schools all over the world! It was this stuff that the press never mentioned, the good people behind the celebrity, showy image they presented to the public.

I was brought back to reality when I noticed Jenna smiling at me slightly. "You really love them, don't you?" She asked gently, and her ability to read my mind was as always, slightly unnerving. But I couldn't help but shrug and smile back. "They're just the sweetest people I've ever met." I said quietly. "And I know I'm not but I feel like one of them." Jenna reached out to give me a clumsy, one armed hug. "You _are _one of them." She whispered in my ear. "You're more special than all of them put together." I grinned at her, a gooey warm feeling in my stomach. I had forgotten how lovely it was to have your family around you.

We chatted back and forth for a bit but I got completely distracted when I saw Damon gliding through the waltzing couples towards us. He grinned when he saw me and I stood up without even really meaning to, my heart fluttering. I heard Jenna chuckle beside me but I barely noticed as now he was right in front of me and he looked so perfect and handsome.  
"I thought I'd never get away." He murmured, pulling me to kiss me. I melted, as always and we both got a bit carried away until Jenna cleared her throat.  
I pulled away, blushing and Damon chuckled before extending his hand to her. "I'm Damon." He said pleasantly. Jenna snorted, but shook his hand and grinned at him. "Jenna. The aunt of the girl you just made out with." Damon did have the decency to look slightly embarrassed, and she laughed. "You guys go off and dance then. I'll be talking to _you_ later." She looked at me pointedly and I smiled sheepishly at her as Damon pulled me away.

"You are the most beautiful woman in this room, do you know that?" He purred silkily in my ear as we swayed back and forth to whatever song was playing. I snorted as he twirled me around. "You are." He insisted, pulling me back in against his chest. "Well, you're the most beautiful person here, full stop." I replied, grinning up at him. He shrugged and I thumped him and he laughed. "Can you waltz?" He asked teasingly and I shook my head. "Well, just follow my lead then, ok?" After a hesitant nod from me, he smirked and began spinning me around the floor slowly.

About ten pieces later, we were still waltzing around the place. I got the hang of the whole waltz thing around the third piece and now we were moving smoothly together. I spent the entire time gazing up at him, and every so often he would smile as he looked down at me. The odd person stared at us and whispered to the person beside them but the majority of the guests left us to our own devices, the older ones smiling warmly.

"I'm parched." I groaned eventually and he chuckled and led me off the dance floor area thing. "You wait here and I'll get you something to drink." He promised, setting me down in a quiet corner. I grinned and blew a kiss at him and he smirked and disappeared into the milling crowd.

I watched the other dancers for a while, smiling when I noticed Caroline and Stefan, twirling around the place like pros despite the fact that they were gazing into each other's eyes, dreamy smiles on their faces. I knew it would only be a matter of time before they got engaged; I could imagine how massive that wedding was going to be.

Suddenly I felt an arm slip around my waist and I turned to say something about them to Damon but the words caught in my throat. Because the toothy grin, olive skin and dangerous dark eyes bearing into mine certainly weren't Damon's. They were Tyler Lockwood's.

I squeaked and wrenched myself out of his grip. A million questions were running through my mind, the main being _what the hell was he doing here? _It didn't take long for that one to be answered. A tall woman with a slinky red dress and long straight blonde hair with a black mask appeared in front of me. "Katherine." I breathed, unease building in my stomach. She grinned at me, her teeth bared in a snarl. "You've met my date." She cooed, indicating to Tyler.  
"How-how did you get in?" I spluttered, taking a small step back. She rolled her eyes as she pulled off her mask. "I'm sure Damon mentioned that I now own a third of the shares in the company? Well, once I mentioned that to the security guards, they didn't have a problem letting me in." She glanced around distastefully, wrinkling her nose. "It's hardly what I'd call _tasteful _though. I'd more air on the side of tacky."

I stared at her, blood boiling but completely lost for words. She looked me up and down and smirked. "Well, don't you look cute? Usually Damon goes for people a little bit…sexier."  
Tyler snorted and I glared at him. He mockingly glared back and then grinned nastily at me. "Aren't you pleased to see me princess?" He said using his old nickname and I wanted to slap him across the face. Before I could do anything however, Damon reappeared and practically dropped the champagne glasses he was holding when he saw who I was standing beside.

"Who let you in?" He snarled at her before noticing Tyler, who smirked at him. "We haven't met." Tyler said slimily, thrusting out his hand. Damon looked at it like it was the most repulsive thing he had ever seen.  
"I'm guessing you're Tyler Lockwood." He hissed and Tyler laughed delightedly. "So Elena has told you about me! Wonderful. Of course, I'm sure Elena's told you about our little…situation?" At this, I looked at him sharply. Situation? What was he on about? Tyler, seeing both my and Damon's expression laughed. "She hasn't told you?" He purred to Damon and I immediately got a bad feeling in my stomach. "Well, that's a bit awkward isn't it? Elena, you promised you would come clean tonight!"

I was staring at him incredulously. I hadn't a notion what he was on about, but when I glanced at Damon, he was looking suspiciously at me.

"Elena's been selling the Salvatore private information to Katherine and I." Tyler said smoothly and immediately everything fell into place. Oh God, I understood what he was trying to do. "Damon, he's lying." I tried desperately but Tyler cut across me. "Now now Elena, let's own up to our crimes hm?" He turned to Damon, a sneaky smile on his face. "If I was lying, how would I know that your father didn't die of natural causes as was released but was in fact an alcoholic and died of alcohol poisoning? If I was lying, how would I know that you, Mr. Salvatore, constantly rebelled against your father as you didn't want to run the family business? If I was lying, how would I know that young Stefan used to be abysmal in school, and you had to bribe the teachers to give him better grades?"

I winced as he continued on and on. This was the stuff that was in the book, told to me in complete secrecy under the assurance that I would word it as best as possible. I had no idea how he knew it all though, but judging by the growing disgust on Damon's face as he looked at me, it wasn't looking good from his perspective.

Finally Tyler finished and Katherine cackled. Without a word, Damon turned and disappeared into the crowd. "Why Tyler, I think we might have caused a bit of trouble." Katherine smirked and I stared at her, horrified anyone could be that awful. But I knew I couldn't stay to yell at her or else I would lose Damon completely. So with one last glare at them, I picked up my skirts and hurried in the direction he had gone.

It took about five minutes and a lot of asking people if they had seen him before I finally spotted the back of his dark hair disappearing through a small door. I hurried after him and when I crashed in, I realized it led to a small, dark broom cupboard.

Leaning against the furthest wall was Damon, his piercing eyes bearing straight into me. "It's funny, but I really believed _you _would never do something like that." He said emotionlessly and I shook my head, a horrible swirling in my stomach. "Damon, you can't honestly believe that I –"

"You're the only one who knows that stuff Elena!" He snarled, moving to about two inches in front of me and I was taken aback by the anger in his eyes. I had seen Damon angry, sure, but I had never been on the receiving end of it. Now I understood exactly why everyone was so scared of him. "Damon, please believe me. I didn't – I would never…" He laughed coldly and I shrank back from him. "Clearly you did Ms. Gilbert. So here is what I want you to do. I want you to go home, pack your bags and get out of my apartment. You're fired."

I stared at him; my entire world was crashing down around me and there was a roaring in my ears. "You…you don't mean that!" I half told him, half pleaded, desperately hoping that he would smile and tell me he knew it was all nonsense and kiss me silly. But of course, he didn't. He just snorted and went to move past me but I blocked him. "Damon – after everything between us, you can't just –" "Throw it away?" He interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "Throw it away like you threw away my personal story? _Stefan's _personal story? I can Elena." What came next was worse than anything that had happened up until this point. His voice was cutting, sarcastic. "Besides, you don't think that _we _ever meant something, do you? You were an experiment, you silly girl. I knew that you'd be out of my life in a few months so I decided to use you since you were around."  
My heart was thumping hard and fast, and even though I knew deep down that he was only saying this stuff because he was angry and embarrassed and hurt, I couldn't help but feel like he actually meant it. He took advantage of my inner horror to push past me. Just before he left, he turned to glance at me one final time. "I mean it Ms. Gilbert. If you're not out of the apartment by the time we get back tomorrow, you don't want to know what I'll do." On that threat, he stepped back outside into the hustle and bustle of the ball, leaving me alone in the darkness.

**Shit went down in this chapter, did it not? I hope that was ok for you all. I tried to use more paragraph spacing because there was a lot of talking in this chapter. A lot of sad talking :'( Anway, please let me know what you thought 3 You know the drill - I squeal and dance whenever someone favourites, reviews, follows and I always check out their pen name to see if they have fanfics of their own :) So do leave reviews (be nice children!) and I'll see you next time!**

**Bye darlings,**

**x**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hello darlings! I'm pretty pleased with how this chapter turned out actually - I'll be able to squeeze another chapter out of it, (you'll see later) but it won't be a very long chapter etc but that's ok, right? I really hope you enjoy this one - I've spent the last few weeks listening to sad music and re-enacting the scenes in my head. I've looked quite a sight. So yes, do enjoy. See you down below!**

I stood there in that broom cupboard for quite some time. Alone, no lights on, the laughter and music sounding far off in the distance when in fact only a few inches of dry wall separated us. It seemed like another world, all of those people having fun and enjoying themselves, when I was here with an ache in my heart and a lump in my throat.

All of a sudden, the room felt extremely claustrophobic – I felt as if the walls were closing in on me. I yanked the door open and pushed through the crowd blindly, desperate to get out of the massive ballroom. "Sorry, sorry." I muttered as I trod on peoples feet and brushed past their dresses. I finally reached the back exit and hurried out into the cool lobby of the building.

It was far less crowded here; in fact there was nobody at all, only the odd staff member scampering through with a platter of food. I paced back and forth, ripping off my mask. I had no way of getting out of the place for at least two hours – Caroline had instructed cars and taxis to come at about two o clock this morning but apparently most people didn't leave until six. Not that the drivers minded – they were invited in to join in the celebrations.

I sighed and sat down on the edge of a chaise lounge. This night had gone from spectacular to horrendous in the space of five minutes. Now I was stuck here in this stupid dress with my hair all done up and my makeup over the top and these _damn _heels and I had nowhere to go. Just a few hours ago, I had thought I was actually one of them, part of the family. But then Damon Salvatore so willingly reminded me that I was nothing more than a staff member.

A kind looking waitress bustled over with a tray, with a mug of hot chocolate and biscuits. "You looked like you could do with it." She smiled and I wanted to weep with graciousness. After having Damon look at me with such anger, such hatred and disgust, it was such a relief to know that not all of mankind hated me.

I focused on the creamy chocolate, trying earnestly not to burst into tears.

About ten minutes passed, and the lobby was completely empty again. I got up to gaze out over the twinkling city through one of the huge windows. Had you told me two months ago this is where I would be, I wouldn't have believed it. Now…I didn't know how I was going to adjust to Mystic Falls again. I pressed my forehead against the cool glass, shutting my eyes, letting all of the memories of my time here flow back to me. Because, ultimately, that was all they were ever going to be to me. Never anything more, never anything that developed into another story.

"Elena?" I turned to see Caroline padding towards me determinedly in her bare feet, clutching her heels in one hand, a champagne glass which she took periodic sips from in the other. Her hair was messy and her mascara and eyeliner were streaked down her face but she smiled sadly at me. "What happened to you?" I asked hollowly as she sat down beside me. "I broke up with Stefan." She said, and her voice shook on his name. Horror coursed through me as I stared at her, shaking my head. "Care, why?" I asked quietly, nearly afraid to know the answer.

She shrugged. "Damon came and dragged us into this room and spewed all of this bull about you selling information to some random guy and Stefan got really angry and _believed _him and they both started ranting about you and I mean, it's so obvious that that's not what happened and I told them that and they both got angry at me and it was quite frankly, ridiculous. And I'm not having my boyfriend give out about my best friend, right? So I broke up with him. That's what girlfriends do, right?" She gave me a watery smile and I could do nothing but hug her tightly

"You didn't have to do that sweetheart." I sighed in her silky hair. She took a few shuddery breaths and looked up at me. "Can…can I stay with you for a little while?" She asked in a tiny voice. "I haven't got anywhere to go, since I've been living with him for years and my parents basically told me that if this whole relationship went wrong, it was my fault and not to run to them for help and…" Her voice cracked and I felt my heart break in two.

"There'll always be a place in my house for you Caroline." I said honestly. "Hey, maybe we could even rent a place together." She lit up at this suggestion and I was about to hug her again when we heard voices. Very familiar voices in fact.

"I really don't know about this." Tyler muttered to Katherine as they hurried across the lobby. They didn't notice us, partly because they were so into their conversation and partly because we were concealed by the couch. Katherine scowled at him. "Don't be stupid Tyler. She'll never work it out." "Yeah, well, you don't know Elena. Girl's too smart for her own good." Katherine rolled her eyes at him as they began to make their way up a staircase. "We'll talk properly upstairs, ok? Someone will hear us here."

They disappeared upstairs and I turned to Caroline to see that she had a devilish grin on her face. She put a finger to her lips, pulled her phone out of her bra and gracefully stood up to tiptoe across the lobby. I stared after her until she turned and mimed taking off her shoes until I did the same and gestured wildly for me to follow. I sighed. May as well add fat to the fire.

We padded in our bare feet after them, wincing whenever one of us caused the stair to creak. The hallway upstairs was dark but one of the doors was slightly open, letting out a sliver of light. We crept up to it and listened intently. I peered in through the tiny space.

Katherine was perched at a desk, tapping at a computer. Tyler was pacing. "I don't know Katherine. I mean, sure it was fun to mess around with them but this…we might get in trouble."  
Katherine snorted, pausing to look up at him. "I'm Katherine Pierce." She drawled, rolling her eyes. "I don't get in trouble." She turned back to the computer and resumed typing. "Besides, I've been getting the price up on this deal since Matt offered it to me." Matt? Maybe I was being superstitious, but I couldn't help but feel that Katherine was talking about my old editor Matt. Caroline glanced at me and I saw her tap the _record _button on her phone.  
"We're going to be anonymous tips though, right?" Tyler asked anxiously and Katherine glared at him. "The Daily Prophet is going to say that we're close friends of the family. What's wrong with you anyway?" She snapped and his reply caused both Caroline and I to clamp hands over our mouths to stop gasps escaping.  
"Katherine, we hacked her computer! Both of their computers in fact! You can go to jail for that, don't you get it?" He raked a hand through his hair, clearly freaked out of the thought of prison. I could see why. Tyler had power because of his reputation, but the people in prison wouldn't care about his reputation. They'd just kick his ass. (I wasn't even ashamed of how this made me smile.)

Katherine glowered at him. "Be quiet!" She hissed. "My business is built on hacking people's computers, that's how I got where I am today. I've done it a million times before; I do it every other day. You think I'm going to _mess up_? Besides, I have a lot more to lose than you pretty boy. So button it."  
Tyler huffed as Caroline hit a button and sat back grinning. "There. Tomorrow morning, the entire world will know Damon Salvatore's entire life story. Even if they did publish that stupid book, they wouldn't make a dime." She got up and stretched and even in his anxiety, I saw Tyler sneak a glance at her chest. I rolled my eyes but saw they were coming towards the door. "Let's go." Caroline mouthed and I nodded. I couldn't resist the temptation to freak them out however so I slowly reached out then slammed the door shut.

I heard Katherine squeal from inside but I didn't stop to listen to her other profanities as Caroline had grabbed my hand and was pulling me down the corridor into another room. We both stood quietly in the pitch black, holding our breaths as Katherine stormed down the corridor, with Tyler running after her, assuring her it had just been the wind. We waited for them to disappear completely before turning to each other, our expressions both stunned and thrilled.

"Did you catch it all?" I asked, afraid of the answer. Caroline pressed the _play _button and Katherine's confident voice came out clearly, every word clear. "I think we just uncovered a major hacking scheme." Caroline said wondrously. A devious grin spread across her face and she began to search through her phone contacts. (Of which there were hundreds.) "I don't think the lawyer will mind being woken up at this hour of the morning for _this._" She sang as she hit the green button and held the phone to her ear. "Hello? Conrad? I think we may have the biggest case of your life for you…"

In the space of five minutes, Caroline's lawyer had everything sorted out with the police. A quick check showed that all of Katherine's rival companies had been shut down due to information impossible for outsiders to know being leaked. It in fact turned out that they had been looking into her for a long time. When we promised that we had solid evidence, they told us they would come as soon as they could.

About an hour later, they arrived. Caroline and I made sure we had a good place in the lobby to watch. About six squad cars pulled up and they just pushed the door open and walked in. Caroline beamed at them and we gleefully offered to show them the way to Katherine. The three male officers seemed a bit stunned by our attire but the women took it in their stride, thanking us graciously. Caroline practically skipped into the ballroom and I was guessing she had never had so much fun in her life.

The crowd parted like the Red Sea when we walked in. I saw Damon and Stefan push to the front of them and Stefan groaned. A weird quiet fell over the room and Caroline cleared her throat. "Oh Katherine!" She sing songed. The crowd parted again, giving us a clear view of the once confident blonde, now looking terrified. She plastered a fake smile on her face when she saw everyone was staring at her and sauntered towards us. "What seems to be the problem Caroline?" She simpered, focusing on the police officers. The one who had thanked us stepped forward. "Katherine Pierce, you're under arrest for hacking multiple databases. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. If you can't afford an attorney…" She carried on through Katherine's rights, who's expression grew more and more fearful. It was when the woman made a move to put handcuffs on her that Katherine really snapped.

"No!" She screeched, pushing the guard away. "NO!" She spun around wildly, searching through the crowd. Her eyes narrowed on someone who was attempting to slink away. "Tyler!" She snarled and much to my joy, someone pushed him out to the front. Tyler shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot while Katherine pointed at him desperately. "It was him!" She cried, and I could see the woman physically hold back an eye roll. "M'am, we're arresting the _both of you_." This caused Tyler to practically spit at Katherine. "I told you this would happen, man! I told you!" He continued on babbling until finally the other guards had enough and came forward to literally force him into handcuffs. His rights were read to him as well and Caroline and I watched smugly as the two were led away.

We both felt that we were important enough to trot after them so we caught a glimpse of them being pushed into separate police cars. The woman turned to us. "Thanks a lot for your help tonight kids." She said and we both glowed. "Stay nearby, ok? We'll want to talk to you both in the morning." She stifled a yawn and Caroline instantly looked horrified. "You're tired? Oh my goodness, we didn't mean to get you out of bed!" The woman snorted. "It's fine sweetheart, I was already –" But Caroline had sped off. A few moments later, she reappeared, clutching a cardboard tray of coffees for all of the officers. She practically thrust them at the officer, who smiled gratefully. "Thanks pet. You two have a good night. I'm Officer Jones by the way." She gave us a final wave and sat into the car and they disappeared down the driveway.

We watched until the cars were out of sight completely. "We just got Katherine Pierce_ arrested_." I realized aloud, the enormity of what had just happened hitting me. Caroline giggled then clamped her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry." She said, her voice muffled. "But…did you see her face? I'm guessing Katherine's never been treated like that before!" She giggled again and this set me off.

We ended up snorting with laughter, clutching each other for support so we didn't ruin our dresses. It was only when we heard someone clearing their throat that we realized basically the entire crowd of guests had gathered at the front of the house, staring at us. Some were trying in vain to get a glimpse down the driveway. Caroline composed herself and pulled herself up to full height. "Ladies and gentlemen, there's been a slight…complication. But it's been sorted out now; you're not going to get a look at anything so please go back inside and carry on the festivities." There was a bit of grumbling but when Caroline raised an eyebrow at them, they turned and shuffled back inside slowly, leaving only two people – Damon and Stefan.

We all tensed slightly and I couldn't help but think to a few nights ago, when I was curled up against Damon and Caroline was on Stefan's lap and we were all talking and laughing and drinking champagne. Now…it was pretty obvious that we weren't going to go near each other. Stefan couldn't take his eyes off Caroline, and she was looking determinedly at the ground so it looked like the talking was going to be left to Damon and I. Marvelous.

"Would you care to explain," He murmured, his voice velvety and smooth. "Why Katherine Pierce was just arrested at our ball?"  
I bit my lip. "It's…well, it's all a bit complicated. Don't worry though; I'm sure your lawyer will explain it tomorrow." His piercing eyes bore into me but I stood my ground, gazing steadily back. "Maybe you could explain it _now_." He said softly, but I caught the threatening growl. Caroline did too, because she glanced up from the ground to glare at him. "Are you sure you want her to do that? She might _sell _any information she hears." Although this didn't really make any sense, Caroline was gaining confidence now, linking her arm with mine as she continued to glare at Damon. His jaw had tensed on the word sell but he continued to gaze at her coolly.

"We're going to find a hotel to stay in." She snapped, and Stefan's eyes made me want to push her into his arms and force them to kiss.  
"You're…you're not staying?" He asked brokenly. "Or going back to the apartment?" The flame in her eyes died and she went back to looking at the dirt. I felt her give a tiny tug on my arm and I knew what she wanted. I began to walk down the driveway backwards, still facing them. "We'll…we'll see you soon." I said quietly, not actually sure if this would be true, before turning fully to begin the long journey to the gates where the taxis and chauffeurs had now arrived. Caroline hurried after me and this time, I was the one to grab her hand.

I was woken the next morning to the phone ringing. I groggily rolled out of bed and made a few swipes at the phone before actually landing on it. "Hello?" I mumbled sleepily. "Ms. Gilbert? This is Officer Jones speaking. We'd like to get you and Ms. Forbes down to the station to ask you a few questions about last night. Just details, stuff like that. How quickly can you be down here?" I yawned and glanced at the time. _Oh my. _It was past two o clock in the afternoon. No wonder I felt so awful. "Is an hour ok?" I offered, certain there was no way Caroline would be ready before then. "Perfect. See you soon Ms. Gilbert."

I stretched as I looked around the hotel room. By the time the taxi had got back into the city, Caroline and I were so exhausted that we didn't care where we ended up. It turned out to be a quiet, clean, sweet hotel, with rooms that smelt like fresh cotton. I went to rouse the sleeping blonde, and she groaned as I pulled back the covers. "Get up. I'm taking a quick shower then you can have the bathroom." She lifted her head and I saw makeup smudged all over her pillow. I realized guiltily that she had been crying during the night. "We've to go down to the station." I said, gently this time. She mumbled something and swung her legs out of bed. Satisfied, I went to figure out how to use the shower.

An hour later, (as promised) we arrived at the police station. I had been surprised when Caroline appeared with no makeup, tracksuit bottoms (worn beautifully of course) and her hair in a bun but I couldn't blame her. I was practically in the same thing. Officer Jones was waiting for us and she smiled kindly when we basically stumbled in. "We're just going to need you to tell us exactly what happened and let us listen to this recording." She explained as she led us deep into the seemingly endless building. "It won't take long."

She was wrong. It turned out; these things did take a long time. A very long time. We spent the next three days telling and retelling our story, explaining why we recorded what we had, why Damon and I fought, what exactly did I know about Katherine Pierce? And so on. We were exhausted but at least it kept our mind off two certain people.

However our minds could only be kept off them for so long. On our fourth day, we were met by the Salvatore's lawyer, Conrad Murray instead of the usual Officer Jones. He was the fiercest lawyer in America or at least it was rumored. He took no prisoners, had no mercy and had a reputation for making grown criminals cry. I wasn't completely positive if that was true, because the smiley man with overly whitened teeth that greeted us didn't look like he could hurt a fly.

"Caroline darling, so lovely to see you." He gushed, kissing her on the cheek. His eyes swiveled to me and he drank me in before clearly deciding that I was fairly likely to be innocent of any crimes and kissing me on the cheek too.

"So my sweethearts, today I'm going to have you doing something that may be a bit uncomfortable but we want to win this case, hm?" He purred as he led us through a series of halls. Caroline and I glanced at each other uneasily but we didn't have time to protest as he flung open a door and there they were.

Damon looked like his usual self, only a lot more tired and his eyes were emotionless, hollow. Stefan looked fine at first glance but on second, I realized how dreadful he looked. His eyes were _sad_, he had dark circles under them and he seemed to be constantly frowning. Caroline froze when she saw him. It looked like she wasn't going to say anything so I took it as my cue.  
"What's going on?" I hissed slowly at Conrad who smiled fake sympathetically. "Darling, I know you're all in a little 'lovers tiff' but I really don't think we should put the entire case on the line because you're in a little row? Come on now pet, you sit here with Damon and Stefan, you get up and come with me and I'll bring you two to a different room so you can have a bit of privacy. Stefan stood up slowly and Conrad beamed at us before ushering a rather startled Caroline and Stefan out of the room and slamming the door behind him.

My breath caught slightly when I realized that we were completely and utterly alone together. Damon waited for me to speak but I didn't say anything, instead choosing to stare determinedly at the carpet. He sighed but when he spoke, it was the last thing I expected him to say.  
"You are aware that this case will never get to court, aren't you?" His voice was its usual purr which wrapped around me like a hug after three days of not hearing it but I barely noticed that, since I was staring at him in horror. "Why not?" I asked in total disbelief. "All of the evidence is there – and we've been told over and over that –" "Please be sensible Ms. Gilbert. Katherine Pierce, actually being charged with a crime? Besides, even if she was, she'd rig the jury."  
I slumped down in a chair, feeling totally dejected. All of our work, and I had thought that Katherine would _finally _have to pay for what she had done – but then this whole world wasn't fair, was it?

"What are you going to do next?" He asked softly, interrupting me from my thoughts, and I shrugged, smiling at him sadly. "Go back to Mystic Falls I guess. That's what I was going to do after the case was over anyway." This was true. I had agonized over my decision late into the night but I knew in my heart that New York wasn't where I was supposed to be. It struck me that I might be out of the place before the week was out. This was a bit of a shock. My eyes flicked to Damon and I realized that we were probably never going to see each other again when I left. Sure, I would see him on TV and he would see my name on newspaper articles (if I was lucky) but our circles, our lives…they were too different, too far apart to ever entwine again. And that was the right thing – people like _me _weren't meant to fall in love with people like _him._ Sure, in fairytales maybe, but the difference with real life was that other people got in the way.  
"You…your job, if you want it…" He began but I shook my head. "I can't Damon." I replied quietly. "I can't be in this world anymore. This lifestyle, these people – I'm not cut out for it. I…I never really was." His gorgeous eyes were bearing straight into me but for once, I didn't really mind feeling completely exposed because I got to take in every single detail of him, making myself commit it to memory.

He reached over and very gently brushed a strand of hair out of my face, just like he had done a million times before, only back then it had been the cause of butterflies in my stomach, the start of something exciting. Now, we both knew that it was as good as a goodbye.

"We've had fun, hey?" I said softly and he laughed quietly. "You know, all of the craziness of the past few months…all of the disasters, all of the things that have happened to my business that could have literally caused its downfall…I don't regret any of it. It's ok Elena. Because if none of it had happened, I wouldn't have got to meet you."

He was right. Two days later, Officer Jones came in and told us dully that all charges had been dropped. "Every bit of information you told is extremely close by." She assured us. "If Ms. Pierce ever tries something like this again, you can bet your bottom dollar she'll be in a cell before you can say scandal. Thanks again for your help kids." And that was it. So I booked my flight back to Mystic Falls for the next day, along with a ticket for Caroline, who insisted that she wanted to come.

The night before we left, I went to grab a pizza from the shop nearby the hotel. There was no point in buying actual food because we would just have to leave it behind, plus Caroline was looking kind of down and I knew that ham and pineapple were her favorite. "I'll be back in fifteen, ok?" I promised as I gathered my bag and purse. She gave me a tiny smile and went back to staring into middle space. Sighing, I left the room and went downstairs and into the bustling street. The neon sign of the pizza place that we had grown to love flashed at me invitingly and I inhaled the smell of tomato and dough as I opened the glass door. "The usual please Carlo." I called to the smiley, chubby man who manned the desk. He beamed at me and called back to the kitchen. "One ham and pineapple and one pepperoni!" He turned to me, a grin on his face. "How are you, my _piccolo?_" (I had found out that this meant 'little one' in Italian. Or at least according to Google Translate.)

I sighed as I flopped down on the plastic, cracked couch opposite the counter. "We're leaving New York tomorrow." I told him and his face dropped. "My favorite customers!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. I smiled sadly at him but then froze, because someone walking past the glass window quickly caught my eye.

I stood up and watched as he made his way into our hotel building, shutting the door quietly behind him. "Carlo, how quickly can that pizza be ready?" I asked slowly and he was about to say something when a little bell pinged and two boxes of steaming pizza appeared. He grinned and handed them to me. "No charge." He insisted when I tried to pay him and I eventually had to shove a big tip on the counter, grab the boxes and run. "You're the best Carlo!" I called over my shoulder as I hurried out of the shop and into the street towards our hotel.

It took me about five minutes to actually get to our floor, because the lift was occupied (by whom, I wonder) and I didn't want to waste time waiting for it so I sprinted up the ten flights of stairs as fast as you could clutching two pizzas. When I reached our floor, I had to take a few moments to get my breathing back to normal because I was pretty sure death was imminent at the rate it was going at. When it finally calmed down, I tiptoed to our door and pressed my ear against it. They hadn't been built for privacy, so I was able to hear pretty much every word.

"Stefan, I'm not staying here. I can't. I'm not going to let her go back to Mystic Falls by _herself_." "Surely you could tell her and I could come with you?" Stefan was sounding desperate.  
"Stefan, you know she wouldn't let either of us go then. It'll be fine. We'll be together again soon, I promise."

"_Il mio amore_, I want to be with you now, I don't want to lose you again." (I looked that up later too; it meant my love in Italian.) Caroline laughed softly. "I don't want to lose you either my darling, but I can't lose Elena. Especially when she has nobody right now." "Caroline –" "Sometimes we have to make sacrifices Stefan. This is mine." I had heard enough. I pulled away from the door, set the pizzas down gently outside the door and ran.

I hated myself. I hated all of the hurt I had caused, the relationships I had damaged and I _hated _myself for loving them all so much. Why could I have just stayed professional, detached like a normal person? Why did I always have to get in over my head? I ran down the stairs and out of the hotel, head and heart pounding. I was stupid, so stupid. I always ruined things, wherever I went. I had done this to Mum and Dad too, before they died. I had rowed with them, made things so difficult that they thought that it was each other's fault and began hating each other too. And if I hadn't called them from that _damned _party to come and pick me up, they'd still be here.

I kept running. I didn't know where to, I just knew that I had to be as far away from here as possible. I pushed through crowds, accidently stood on people but I didn't care for once. I ran and ran and ran, ignoring when I felt like my legs would collapse underneath me and when I wasn't really able to breathe anymore. I heard my phone ringing again and again but I didn't answer it. The car crash, their bodies, everything was replaying over and over in my head. I hadn't let myself think about it after it happened but now all of the details wouldn't stop rushing back to me. The way Dad had tried desperately to turn the car but couldn't, the way Mom told me they both loved me so much and the way they both covered my body with theirs when it happened. It was all my fault, it was all my fault, it was _all my fault_. Jeremy would have to become an adult on his own, Jenna would have to live without a sister, their friends would have to live with a constant ache in their hearts for the rest of their lives.

Finally I had to stop, because I was sure I would faint if I didn't and that's the last thing I wanted on a busy street. I checked my phone and realised that I had been running for two hours. Wow. And then I saw I had thirty missed calls. _Thirty._ There were twelve from Stefan and Caroline, ten from Aunt Jenna – my heart twisted when I thought about how anxious she would be – and then there were eight from Damon. I stared at the phone as it lit up and began to ring again. It was him. My finger hovered hesitantly over the green button. I wasn't really sure if I wanted help. I certainly didn't deserve it. But I knew how worried he was – Damon didn't call people eight times for nothing. I shut my eyes and pressed the answer button.

"Where are you?"He asked urgently as soon as I put the phone to my ear. Hearing his voice made my throat swell and tears began dripping down my face. "I've messed everything up." I croaked, slumping against a wall. "Nothing's ever going to be right again." "Elena, what are you talking about –" "My parents, Damon!" I sobbed hysterically. "I _killed _them and now they're gone and I've messed up Stefan and Caroline's relationship and I've messed up _us_ and –" "You haven't messed anything up Elena." He said softly. "Bad things have happened to you, but it does not make you a bad person. Stefan and Caroline are fine, just worried about you. As am I and all of the people who love you. Now where are you?"

He appeared five minutes later. I had slid down the wall gradually until I was basically crouched on the ground, clutching my knees. People walking by either gave me weird looks or just completely ignored me, thinking I was mad. Maybe I was. Two black shoes appeared in my line of vision and I looked up shakily to see Damon looking down at me, shaking his head sadly. "Come on." He said gently. When I didn't move, he sighed and crouched beside me. "You're the most selfless, sweetest person I've ever met." He said quietly, brushing a tear off my face with his thumb. "Don't forget that, ok?" I suddenly felt incredibly tired. "Can we go home?" I snuffled and he smiled gently and nodded, offering me his hand. I gingerly took it and he helped me up, leading me slowly to his car.

I curled up on the soft leather, leaning my forehead against the cool window. Damon slid in beside me and the driver pulled away smoothly.  
I felt his eyes on me but I didn't want to look at him. I couldn't. "I've told the others that you're ok." He said softly and I glanced at him unwillingly. "Thanks." I croaked. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked gently. I didn't say anything. "You said something about your parents –" "I said I don't want to talk about it!" I snapped, and I realized my voice sounded hysterical. "Ok." He murmured soothingly and his voice was so warm that I felt compelled to drop the cold act and turn and lean against his muscular chest. He very gently wrapped an arm around me and rubbed his chin back and forth over my hair. "You're a wonderful woman, Ms. Gilbert." He said quietly and I snorted in spite of myself. "You are." He insisted. "You're a kind, intelligent, sweet, _brave _person." I realized that the car was coming to a stop and I squinted out of the window. "Why…why are we at the airport?" I asked slowly, sitting up. "I'm putting you on a private plane back to Mystic Falls." When I turned to look at him in confusion, he shrugged. "The best place for you is with your family Ms. Gilbert. The plane is leaving in five minutes and your Aunt will be waiting at the airport for you."

He smiled sadly at me and got out of the car, leaving me on my own for about five seconds to contemplate what was happening until he appeared to open my door. I got out slowly, feeling a bit like a baby giraffe testing its legs for the first time. The small plane was right in front of me, its stairs down and waiting. I turned to Damon, who was standing a bit away.

"I guess…well, this is goodbye then, isn't it Mr. Salvatore?" I said shakily and he smiled a weird, half smile. "I guess so Ms. Gilbert." I went to hold out my hand all formally and he rolled his eyes, took it, and yanked me in for a proper hug. "It's been amazing working with you Ms. Gilbert." He murmured in my ear and I had to bite my lip to stop the tears streaming down my face. "I'll call you if I ever need the CEO of a multi million dollar business to write an article on." I promised, my voice trembling and he grinned. "I'll take it as a personal offence if I see an article on a CEO of any other multi million dollar company. Now scram darling, your plane's about to leave." I lingered in his arms a second longer and he bent down to kiss my cheek, his icy skin pressing against mine. "Safe flight." He said hollowly as I began to back away from him.  
"Thank you. For everything." I managed to choke out before stepping onto the little stairs and hurrying up the steps.

I allowed myself one last glance at him before I entered the plane fully and I was struck by how _small _he looked.I gave him a tiny wave and he smiled and waved back. "Goodbye Mr. Salvatore." I whispered to myself before the flight attendant ushered me into the depths of the plane.

**Squee! What did you think? :D I hope you enjoyed it. It was actually a kind of difficult chapter to write, as there's loads of difficult to talk about subjects in this and I hope I did them justice! As always, rate, review, follow, favourite, do what you gotta do and I'll see you soon! (I will do another chapter, I promise this isn't the tragic end of our two lovers!)**

**Love you always my darlings,**

**xxx**


	10. Chapter 9 - THE FINALE THING AGH NO

**Quick little disclaimer - this is quite a short chapter, and I do apologise but it was always going to be, so do enjoy anyway. This is it guys! This is the end of 'You're in Paradise Now'! We've had a good laugh though, haven't we? There's been tears, there's been joy but ultimately, we still ship Delena at the end of the day right? And we always will :') I'll write a bit more at the bottom of the chapter as I don't want to delay you any more. Enjoy ~**

"Elena, you sure you're ok?" Jenna called from the sitting room. "I'm fine!" I called back as I yanked the turkey out of the oven. Christmas music was tinkling from our speakers and baubles dangled from every surface. It was Christmas day, exactly two months since I had last seen Damon. Two months mightn't sound like a long time, but it felt like the whole thing had happened years ago, if at all. I had taken it upon myself to prepare Christmas dinner for Jeremy, Jenna and I since I hadn't really much else to do. I had been doing bits and pieces of freelance and had been offered a few more permanent positions, but I hadn't taken them. I didn't want to, not yet. I hadn't heard from any of them, apart from a text or two from Caroline and although I hadn't really expected to, it still stung a little bit that they never really thought of me. That was when I had to remind myself that I was out of their lives – they had no reason to think of me. Caroline was probably busy planning next year's ball, and the brothers were probably immersed in some other project. None of them had time for me. And I knew that I was just going to have to accept that.

After my mini breakdown in New York, everyone in Mystic Falls had been tiptoeing around me carefully, unsure of what to say. When it became apparent that I wasn't going to curl up in a ball in the middle of the street however, they bombarded me with questions about the Salvatores, Damon in particular. Jenna, bless her heart, hadn't told anyone about our little relationship so it was easy to brush off questions with a small laugh and a vague reply.

I popped the turkey on a plate – I knew it had to settle for about an hour, so I began to search for all of its accompaniments. "Cranberry sauce…where's the cranberry sauce?" I muttered to myself, rooting through all of the cupboards. When I couldn't find any, I popped my head into the sitting room, where Jenna was curled, reading through a book I had given her as a present. She glanced up and smiled warmly.  
"Did you get the cranberry sauce Jenna? It was on the list." Her smile dropped and she sat up, horrified. "Oh sweetheart, I'm so sorry, I completely forgot –" I waved it off, grinning at her. "It's fine. I'll just run down to the shop and grab some. I have to get ice cream anyway." She still looked a bit anxious but I winked at her and hurried to grab my coat. I actually wanted to go on a little walk – it had snowed last night and Mystic Falls never looked more beautiful than when it was covered in white.

I pulled on my grey trench coat over my little green dress I had spent so long choosing - I had a pair of black tights on as well, along with black heels which I knew wouldn't be ideal in snow but they were so _pretty_, and I didn't have the heart to take them off I looped a scarf around my neck, pulled on a pair of gloves, grabbed my bag and I was off.

Mystic Falls really was gorgeous – I crunched through the snow merrily, swinging my purse at my side. The streets were empty – everyone was inside of course, with their families. This made my chest twinge a tiny bit but I tried to ignore it and carried on.

All of a sudden, snowflakes began to fall around me. I stopped and grinned as I gazed up directly into the sky, sticking out my tongue and tasting their icy coldness. "Merry Christmas Ms. Gilbert." I whispered to myself as I took a step forward before I collided straight into someone and tripped to the ground.

I landed in the soft snow, so I was fine of course, but that wasn't what was causing my heart to thump. It was the man offering his hand out to me, with his piercing blue eyes and his raven black tousled hair, his smug smile and his strong, muscular body. "Mr...Mr. Salvatore." I said shakily, more in shock than anything else.  
His smile spread and he took my hand and pulled me up.  
"Ms. Gilbert." He murmured. His minty breath was cool on my flushing cheeks and his hand lingered on my arm as I gazed up at him, feeling a little bit star struck. He was even more perfect than I remembered him, wearing a soft black coat and grey scarf, along with leather gloves. "What…what are you doing back here in Mystic Falls? You…you stay in New York for Christmas." I breathed, trying to focus which was quite hard considering he was rubbing his thumb in tiny circles on my wrist. He shrugged.  
"I figured it was time for a change. Plus Stefan and Caroline wanted to come home." I noticed his car, parked a bit down the street. I squinted at it, and saw Caroline was crouched in the backseat. When she saw I was looking at her, she waved enthusiastically. I gave a hesitant wave back and Damon chuckled softly. "She wanted to come to say hello. She made Stefan come along too." He explained dryly and I snorted. Same old Caroline then.  
"It's like you haven't existed." I said softly, and Damon's face grew serious all of a sudden. "I'm sorry," He said quietly. "For not making any contact with you. I know you were probably confused but we didn't know what else to do. We didn't want to keep dragging you back into our crazy little world." "Why are you back now then?" I whispered, and his eyes seemed to grow even more intense. "A day has not gone by when I haven't thought about you, Ms. Gilbert." He murmured, and my heart began to pound even faster. It was just then when Caroline decided to make her exit from the car, skipping cheerfully towards us in impossibly high boots. Stefan followed after her, smiling at me sheepishly. I pulled away from Damon and grinned at them, but that only lasted until Caroline slipped and ended up flat on her back in the snow. I groaned and hurried towards her, a little more carefully than she had.

I reached her before Stefan did and found her giggling, her warm blue eyes twinkling up at me. "What am I going to do with you Care?" I laughed, extending a hand. She grinned and grabbed my hand and yanked me down into the snow beside her. I squealed at the icy coldness and tried to flick some onto her while Damon and Stefan appeared over us.

"It's freezing!" I complained and Damon laughed and pulled me up gently. Caroline scrambled up and threw her arms around me. "It's so good to see you!" She chirped happily and I couldn't help but hug her back. When I pulled away, I grinned at Stefan who smiled warmly back, pulling me in to kiss me on the cheek. "It's lovely to see you." He beamed and my heart felt lighter than it had in months as I looked around at all of them.  
"But tell me Ms. Gilbert, what are you doing out and about on Christmas morning?" Damon drawled and I laughed.  
"I need to pick up a few things in the shop for Christmas dinner. Speaking of which, what are you all doing?" Caroline and Stefan smiled at each other. "We're going to Caroline's parents for dinner." Stefan explained, wrapping his arms around her lightly. "They've decided to finally get to know me." I smiled warmly at them. "I'm positive they'll love you." I told him and I meant it. Stefan was impossible not to like, and I couldn't imagine anyone being anything but thrilled that their daughter was going out with him. "Actually sweetheart, we had better go." Caroline said, glancing at him before turning to me, grinning. "I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" She said happily, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back, realizing how much I had missed this little ball of energy. They disappeared down the road, giving us a final wave before turning a corner.

I turned to Damon, my heart thumping. "What are you doing for Christmas, Mr. Salvatore?" I asked shyly and he shrugged. "This and that. You know yourself." I examined him for a few moments before speaking again 'This and that' meant nothing for Damon; even if I hadn't seen him for a while, I still remembered this. "Well, do you want to come to my house for Christmas dinner?"

He looked surprised and, I was worried I had said something wrong. "I don't want to crash in on your family dinner." He said simply and I realized that even if my parents were dead, I still had family. Damon really had no one apart from Stefan. This only made me more determined to get him to agree.

"Come on!" I coaxed, becoming more and more excited about the idea. He was wavering too, I could tell. "You could help me cook!" I offered, remembering that he was amazing at it. He wrinkled his nose at this however. "_You're_ cooking?" He asked in disbelief and I thumped him hard, glaring at him. "Do you want to come over or not?" I demanded grumpily and he laughed, a warm smile spreading over his face. "I'd love to, if it's ok with you." I nodded eagerly – I knew Aunt Jenna wouldn't mind. If anything, she would enjoy having someone else.

"I just need to have a few things to grab in the shop." I told him and he grinned and offered me his arm. "We'd best get going then, shouldn't we Ms. Gilbert?" I rolled my eyes, slipping my hand lightly through his arm. I knew it was probably best not to become too attached, not again – but oh, he was so perfect, with the sparkle in his incredible eyes and the tiny lines that appeared around them when he smiled and his red lips that were curved in a smug smile and looked _so _kissable and perfect…I realized he was saying something and quickly tried to refocus.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I asked as innocently as I could and he smirked again, raising an eyebrow. "I _said_," He murmured, the intense blues of his eyes glancing every now and again at my lips. "That you were staring at me and I wanted to know if something was wrong." Judging by the tone of his voice, he knew exactly what was wrong.

"I'm…I'm fine!" I bluffed, blushing bright red. He rolled his eyes and continued on into the shop, leaving me to trot after him, cursing myself as I did so. "What did you say you needed?" He asked, turning around so that I practically bumped into him. "Oh – just ice cream and cranberry sauce. And if there's anything you're partial to, grab it." He nodded, and disappeared into the aisles, appearing about a minute later with a jar of red sauce and a tub of some fancy ice cream, along with a packet of Oreos. I raised my eyebrow at the cookies but he ignored me. I would have teased him further but I realized that he was going to pay so I obviously need to run after him, yelping about how It was his job. He ignored me again of course.

We left the shop with me still complaining and found it had begun snowing again. I tentatively stepped out into the falling snowflakes, knowing that there wasn't a more magical sight than this. "It's beautiful." I said quietly to Damon, who appeared by my side, and he shrugged. "I've seen a lot more gorgeous." He replied and it took me a moment to realize what he was saying. I blushed bright red, beginning to walk quickly again. "We…we can't be late for Jenna!" I called to him by way of feeble explanation. I presumed that he didn't buy it but he didn't say anything else and followed me.

I sighed with relief inwardly when our house came into view. At least there I could distract myself and maybe Damon would ease up on all of the hands 'accidently' brushing and the comments with slight innuendos, because I knew that my strong 'we really shouldn't get back together' façade would crumble if he kept up like that for much longer.

"Are you ok?" He murmured, as if he could read my damn mind. "Why wouldn't I be? It's Christmas." was my stupid reply. Christ, I really had to get better at talking like a sophisticated person.

"Well, you haven't really been ok since earlier." He said, his eyebrows furrowed slightly as he tried to read me the way he read everyone else. "I'm fine." I insisted lamely and he rolled his eyes. "You're not fine, Ms. Gilbert. Now tell me what's wrong." I stared at him quietly, taking in his earnest expression and desperately wishing I could say the opposite of what I was about to. "We…we can't be together Damon." I said. "I just can't deal with all of that again. And I want to, so much but I just…I don't think you and I are meant to be together. Not now anyway." He looked at me. Like really looked at me. For so long that I began to feel a bit uncomfortable. "Let's…just forget about." I muttered, turning away to continue to the house. "Is that what you want?" I heard from behind me, his voice slightly cold, which I _hated_. I spun around, glaring at him. "Of course it isn't!" I cried, wanting to slap him for his stupidity. He strode towards me, getting all up close now; this was one of his intimidation tactics, I knew. (It was working, if I was being completely honest.)

"So why can't we Elena?" He demanded, his flashing eyes a few inches from mine. I couldn't think of an actual answer for this, so I just stayed quiet, which seemed to irritate him more. "You don't have a reason – do you want to know why? _Because there is none_. You and I were made for each other Elena! I'm never happier than I am with you, don't you understand? I love you!" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, we both froze.  
"You…you _what_?" I whispered quietly, staring at him. I was guessing that Damon Salvatore had never said that to someone in his life, and I'm pretty sure Damon was thinking the exact same thing. Nobody had ever said it to me in that sense, that was for sure. Then a strange expression crossed his face and he shrugged before taking another step forward and filling whatever space had been between us. "May as well throw fat into the fire." He murmured, before twisting his hand in my hair and tilting my head backwards and pressing his lips against mine.

It was electric – every nerve, every cell in my body felt like a firework exploding. I was discovering that Damon Salvatore was a bit like a drug – once you'd had a taste, you couldn't go back. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling myself closer to him as he moaned slightly. This kiss was making me lightheaded, but I didn't even care. It did briefly cross my mind that any of my neighbors might be having a gawk at us through the window but I couldn't focus on that for too long – this moment felt too magical, what with it being Christmas, and the snow swirling lazily around us, to be spoiled by something as trivial as that.

Finally I had to pull away, gasping for air. (As elegantly as one could obviously.) Damon, as per usual, looked just as he had before hand. He gently cupped my face with his hand. "I've waited so long to be able to hold you again." He said softly, rubbing his thumb gently back and forth over my cheek. "I've waited so long to hug you, to kiss you, to touch you. It was a mistake, Ms. Gilbert, to ever let you go." I gazed at him, completely transfixed despite the fact that I was practically going numb from the cold. He went to kiss me again but I knew if I was going to attempt to get out of this, I would have to try before my resolve crumbled weakly.

"But Damon, we don't live in the same world." I protested weakly. "You have your multi million dollar business and your trillions of dollars and houses all over the world and I'm Elena Gilbert, freelance writer from 221 Mystic Falls Avenue. Do you honestly think that doesn't matter?"

"I would give up my business and my money and my houses and everything I own, if it meant I got to be with you Ms. Gilbert." He said completely seriously and I nearly melted into a puddle of goo on the street. "Just say the word and I'll get rid of all of it. But all I'm asking of you is that you take me back. Please Ms. Gilbert."  
He didn't say anything for a few moments, just looked at me so intently that I felt trapped in his gaze and all of a sudden, I flashed back to when I first met him. Back then, he had just been a job, something I needed to get over with. I had been scared of him, intimidated by him, wondering if he was just going to laugh in my face and tell me to get out before he called security. And now, he was standing in front of me, asking me to get back together with him, to be with him and to accept his love again. And just like I had that first day, I felt powerless, knowing that I had as much choice about this as I did that first day. So when he slowly came towards me and pressed his cool, soft lips to mine, I didn't object – I simply wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back hard, because ultimately, I didn't know what was going to come our way next, but what I was positive of was that Damon Salvatore loved me, and I him. And when he pulled away and pressed his forehead against mine and murmured those three magic words, I didn't think twice before whispering them back.

**Maybe if we wish hard enough, it doesn't have to end? Sigh. I feel like I'm being forced to give away a freaking puppy or something because this story was my baby, my whole first fanfic. A total of 64 pages, forever saved to my computer under the title 'aaaaaaaaa' as I was too lazy to write the full thing. :P I can honestly say that you people reading this have been the most gorgeous people ever and I will not forget your kind words in a hurry, I can assure you of that. Obviously I will continue to write fanfiction (if there's anything you want to see, do let me know! I've been mulling over an idea for a while but it isn't at all like this one, and it will require a good bit of planning but we'll see!) but I know that of course, I will lose some of you readers because obviously you won't read all of one author. And that's perfectly fine :) If you've taken the time out of your day to leave a review/private message/follow/favourite/ETC ETC ETC, you are just a lovely person.  
****What in God's name am I going to do with all of my spare time now? D: Probably just Tumblr. And tea. I'll nurse away my fanfiction blues.**

**As always, rate, review, let me know what you thought! I hate that I'll (most likely) never have to update this story again D: But there will be others!**

**Bye my darlings,**

**x**


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